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3  3433  070248657 


Jstf&h+tmLs   ufae   v/7 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF  THE 


SOCIETY  FOR  PSYCHICAL  RESEARCH. 


VOLUME    v  r. 


(CONTAINING     PARTS     XV— XVII.) 


1889—90. 


London : 

KEGAN    PAUL,    TRENCH,    TRUBNER    and    CO.,    Limited, 

LUDGATE    HILL. 

1890.  /h- 


London  : 

National  Press  Agency,   Limited, 
13,  Whitefriars  Street,  E.C. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Address  by  the  President,  Professor  Sidowick,  on  The  Canons  of 
Evidence  in  Psychical  Research 1 

Address  by  the  President  on  The  Census  of  Hallucinations  ...       7 

On  Recognised  Apparitions  Occurring  more  than  a  Year  after  Death.  By 
F.  W.  H.  Myers 13 

Further  Experiments  in  Hypnotic  Lucidity  or  Clairvoyance.  By  Pro- 
fessor Charles  Richet 66 

Duplex  Personality.  An  Essay  on  the  Analogy  between  Hypnotic 
Phenomena  and  certain  Experiences  of  the  Normal  Consciousness. 
By  Thomas  Barkworth 84 

Notes  of  Seances  with  D.  D.  Home.     By  William  Crookes,  F.  R.  S.     98^ 

Experiments  in  Thought-Transference.     By  Professor  and  Mrs.  H. 

Sidowick,  and  Mr.  G.  A.  Smith "         128 

Supplement. 

I.  International  Congress  of  Experimental  Psychology.     By  A.  T. 

Myers,  M.D 171 

II.  Ad  Interim  Report  on  the  Census  of  Hallucinations   .         .         .   183 
in.  Professor  Pierre  Janet's    "  Automatisme  Psychologique. "     By 

Frederic  W.  H.  Myers 186 

» 

IV.  Binet  on  the  Consciousness  of  Hysterical  Subjects.     By  F.W.H. 

Myers  .  200 

V.   "DasDoppel-Ich."    By  F.  W.  H.  Myers 207 

VI.  Dr.   «,ules  Janet  on   Hysteria  and  Double    Personality.      By 

F.  W.  H  Myers 216 

VU.  Professor  Liegeois  on  Suggestion  and  Somnambulism  in  Relation 

to  Jurisprudence.     By  Walter  Leaf,  Litt.  D.      .         .         .  222 
VIII.  Two  Books  on  Hypnotism.     By  Walter  Leaf,  Litt.  D.      .         .  226 

Phantasms  of  the  Dead  from  Another  Point  of  View.     By  F.  Podmore  .  229 

A  Defence  of  Phantasms  of  the  Dead.     By  F.  W.  H.  Myers  .         .  314 

A  Record  of  Telepathic  and  Other  Experiences.     By  the  Author  of 
"  A  Record  of  Recent  Experiments  in  Crystal  Vision  "        .         .  358 

Experimental  Coni[)arison  between  Chance  and  Thought-Transference 
ir  Corr^pondence  of  Diagrams.    By  Lieut. -Colonel  ft.  Le  M.  Taylor  398 

Supplement. 

I.  Observations  on  Clairvoyance,  &c.     By  Drs.  Dufay  and  Azam  .  407 

Address  by  the  President,  Professor  Sidowick,  on  the  Census  of 
Hallucinations  (his  second  address  on  this  subject)       .         .         .  429 

A  Record  of  Observations  of  Certain  Phenomena  of  Trance — 

(1)  Introduction,  by  F.  W.  H.  Myers     .         .         .         .436 

(2)  PartL,  by  Professor  O.  J.  Lodge,  F.R.fc.        .        .  4A& 


(3)  Part  II.,  by  Walter  Leaf,  Litt.  D. 

(4)  Index  to  Items  in  Parts  I.  and  II.,  Hpeemlly  difficult 

to   explain   by   direct    tin  nigh  t-tnmsference.     By  p 

Professor  O.  J.  Lodok,  F.  R.  S.         .        .        .  J* 

(5)  Part  III.,  by  Profehmou  William  James,  of  Harvard  >' 

University.             ....          ...  66 

SUPPLEMENT. 

I.   Second  Ad  Interim  Report  on  the  Census  of  Hallucinations         .  fift 
II.  Review    of    A.    Aksakof's    Animismus    and    Spiritisnius.     By 

F.  W.  H.  Myers  .  68! 

Supplementary  Catalogue  of  the  Edmund  (iunioy  Library      .         .         .671 

List  of  Members  and  Associates i\~\ 

List  of  Members  and  Associates  of  the  American  Branch  .691 


I 

p 


SOCIETY  FOR  PSYCHICAL  RESEARCH. 


L 

•HE  CANONS  OF  EVIDENCE  IN  PSYCHICAL  RESEARCH. 

Address  given  by  the  President,  Professor  Sidgwick,  at  the  thirty- 
cond  General  Meeting  of  the  Society,  held  at  the  Westminster  Town 
raU,  on  May  10th,  1889. 


I  may  begin  by  apologising  for  the  pretentiousness  of  my  announce- 
ent,  which  will,  I  fear,  lead  those  who  read  it  to  expect  a  more  precise 
id  detailed  statement  of  the  rules  to  be  followed  in  such  an  investiga- 
te as  ours  than  I  am  at  all  prepared  to  offer. 

As  will  appear,  my  view  is  that  the  investigation  is  inevitably  of 
o  obscure  and  tentative  a  kind  to  render  it  possible  to  treat  it  by  any 
;ry  exact  method  ;  but  there  are  certain  general,  though  vague,  princi- 
es  which  seem  to  me  reasonable  in  dealing  with  the  kind  of  evidence 
tat  comes  before  us,  and  which  the  very  obscurity  and  tentativeness 
:  the  inquiry  renders  it  desirable  to  put  forward  for  discussion. 

I  mean  by  "  the  kind  of  evidence  "  evidence  for  marvels  ;  evidence 
Hiding  to  prove  the  intrusion — if  I  may  so  call  it — into  the  world  of 
rdinary  experience,  material  or  mental,  either  of  causes  that  find  no 
lace  at  all  in  science — i.e.,  in  our  systematised  knowledge  of  the  world 
i  experience — or  of  unknown  modes  of  operation  of  known  causes. 

That  there  is  an  immense  divergence  of  opinions  among  thoughtful 

arsons  as  to  the  manner  in  which  this  evidence  should  be  dealt  with  is 

ihown  in  other  ways  than  in  the  criticism  passed  on  our  work  ;   it  is 

ihown,  e.g.,  in  the  controversies  that  from  time  to  time  go  on  between  the 

representatives  of  orthodox  theology  and  the  lights  of  modern  science. 

But  the  question  of  the  evidential  value  of  narratives  of  miracles,  as 

credentials  of  a  prophet  or  teacher  sent  from  God,  is  complicated  with 

profound  philosophical  and  ethical  considerations  which  do  not  enter 

into  the  question  with    which  we  are  concerned.      Most  thoughtful 

▼riters  on  Christian  evidences  in  the  present  age  would,  I  think,  agree 

that  the  evidence  which  the  marvellous  narratives  of  the  Gospels  afford 

°f  the  Divine  origin  of  Christianity  must  be  taken  in  connection  with 

the  direct  appeal  that  Christianity  makes  to  the  moral  and  religious 

consciousness  of  the  individual ;  thus,  e.g.,  if  we  had  similar  evidence 

tending  to  show  the  Divine  origin  of  such  a  religion  as  Mormonism,  we 

certainly  refuse  to  regard  it  as  conclusive. 

B 


2  The  Canons  of  Evidence  in  Psychical  Research.  [May  l1 

In  this  religious  controversy,  therefore,  we  do  not  have  the  question 
of  the  right  scientific  attitude  to  take  up  towards  evidence  for  marve/li 
as  such,  presented  in  a  simple  form.  To  find  it  so  presented,  we  must 
turn  to  our  own  inquiry.  Any  member  of  our  Society  who  has  followed 
the  controversy  to  which  our  publications  have  given  rise  must  have 
felt  that,  as  regards  what  is  to  most  the  most  interesting  subject  of 
our  investigation — the  possible  action  of  intelligences  other  than  those 
of  living  human  beings  in  the  world  of  our  experience — we  occupy  a 
very  peculiar  position.  It  is  not  only  that  we  are  attacked  with  equal 
vigour  by  Materialists  and  Spiritualists :  but  that  each  of  the  opposing 
parties  attributes  to  us  an  extreme  and  irrational  bias  in  favour  of  the 
other  extreme.  Our  materialistic  opponents  seem  to  hold  that  there  is 
practically  no  difference  worth  considering,  in  respect  of  credulity  and 
superstition,  between  admitting  the  evidence  of  Spiritualists  to  be 
deserving  of  serious  and  systematic  consideration,  and  accepting  their 
conclusions ;  while  the  Spiritualists  seem  to  think  that  the  manner 
in  which  we  treat  their  evidence  shows  that  we  are  as  obstinately 
prejudiced  against  their  conclusions  as  the  most  bigoted  Materialists 
can  be. 

I  do  not  infer  from  this  that  the  position. which  we  thus  occupy  be- 
tween the  extremes  is  necessarily  a  right  position  :  for,  granting  that 
truth  generally  lies  somewhere  between  extreme  views,  it  is  obvious  that 
the  wider  the  interval  between  the  extremes,'  the  greater  the  chance  that 
any  particular  position  taken  up  in  this  interval  may  itself  be  remote 
from  the  truth.  My  object  is  rather  to  show  how  vast  the  intellectual 
interval  is  between  the  opposing  extremes,  when  our  intermediate  posi- 
tion is  thus  viewed  on  either  side  as  almost  indistinguishable  from  the 
opposite  extreme. 

What,  then,  is  the  cause  of  this  immense  divergence  as  to  the  right 
manner  of  dealing  with  the  evidence  ?  Is  it  possible  by  any  reasoning 
to  diminish  it,  and  to  bring  the  divergent  extremes  to  something  more 
like  a  mutual  understanding  ?  These  questions  naturally  force  them- 
selves on  us  :  and  from  our  intermediate  position,  subjected  as  it  is  to 
vehement  attacks  from  both  sides,  we  are,  I  think,  very  favourably 
situated  for  considering  the  question. 

It  is  this  question  that  I  wish  briefly  to  deal  with  this  evening. 
I  wish  to  show  that  in  such  inquiries  as  ours  it  is  inevitable  that  there 
should  be  a  very  wide  margin  within  which  neither  side  can  prove,  or 
ought  to  try  to  prove,  that  the  other  is  wrong  :  because  the  important 
considerations,  the  proa  and  cons  that  have  to  be  weighed  against 
each  other,  are  not  capable  of  being  estimated  with  any  exactness. 
And  therefore  there  is  properly  a  very  wide  interval  between  the  point 
— as  regards  weight  of  evidence — at  which  it  is  reasonable  to  embark 
upon  an  inquiry  of  this  kind,  and  the  point  at  which  it  is  reasonable 


•  •• 


1889.]    The  Canons  of  Evidence  in  Psychical  Research.  3 

to  come  to  a  positive  decision.  Moreover,  it  would  save  useless 
controversy  to  keep  in  mind,  that  the  considerations  in  favour  of  accept- 
ing the  evidence  for  the  marvels  as  real  is  necessarily  and  reasonably 
taken  at  a  different  value  by  different  persons,  according  to  the  different 
relations  in  which  they  stand  to  it. 

Let  me  first  state  briefly  why  the  decisive  considerations  cannot  be 
estimated  with  any  exactness.  In  considering  whether  the  evidence 
for  a  marvellous  fact  is  to  be  taken  as  true  and  adequate  we  have 
necessarily  to  compare  opposing  improbabilities  :  it  is  improbable  that 
the  marvel  should  have  really  happened,  and  it  is  improbable  that  the 
testimony  to  its  happening  should  be  false — otherwise  the  testimony 
would  not  be  what  we  call  evidence  at  all. 

Now  these  opposing  improbabilities  are  quite  diverse,  and  we  have 
no  intellectual  scales  in  which  we  can  weigh  them  accurately  one  against 
the  other.  Some  of  our  opponents  offer  us,  by  way  of  such  scales, 
Hume's  summary  argument  against  miracles  :  "  It  is  contrary  to  experi- 
ence that  miracles  should  be  true,  and  not  contrary  to  experience  that 
testimony  should  be  false."  But  in  saying  that  a  marvel  is  contrary  to 
experience  we  can  mean  no  more  than  that  it  is  unlike  previous 
experience — or  rather  that  it  is  unlike  that  portion  of  experience  which 
has  been  collected,  handed  down,  and  systematised  by  competent 
persons.  But  this  only  means  that  it  is  entirely  novel  and  strange  : 
and  in  the  course  of  the  life  of  the  human  race,  during  the  period  in 
which  it  has  handed  down  and  communicated  experiences,  different 
portions  of  mankind  have  been  continually  coming  across  things  that 
were  at  first  entirely  novel  and  strange,  though  further  acquaintance 
has  rendered  them  familiar. 

Let  us  take  the  strangest  of  the  marvels  that  we  are  investigating, 
the  physical  phenomena  of  Spiritualism :  and  let  us  grant — for  the 
sake  of  argument — that  they  are  as  strange  to  human  experience  as 
they  certainly  are  to  modern  science.  No  one  will  maintain  that  it  is 
impossible  that  the  human  race  should  ever  come  across  anything  so 
entirely  novel  in  the  course  of  its  accumulation  of  experiences  ;  they 
can  only  say  that  it  is  highly  improbable.  What  is  impossible  is  to 
estimate  this  improbability  with  anything  like  exactness  :  since  to  make 
such  an  estimate  we  should  require  to  ascertain  the  proportion  that 
what  we  do  know  about  the  universe  bears  to  what  we  do  not  know 
about  it ;  and  that  proportion  is  certainly  one  of  the  things  that  we  do 
not  know. 

We  are,  therefore,  in  this  position — not  very  satisfactory  to  the 
logical  mind,  but  one  that  we  are  bound  to  face  :  we  must  admit  that 
the  statement  of  a  fact  novel  beyond  a  certain  degree  of  novelty  is  in 
itself  an  improbable  statement,  and  that  the  improbability  grows  as  the 
novelty  grows :  but  we  must  admit  that  no  one  can  pretend  to  lay  down 


4        The  Canons  of  Evidence  in  Psychical  Research,    [May 

at  what  rate  the  improbability  grows.  The  improbability  of  cou^e 
vanishes  when  we  come  to  understand  the  conditions  of  the  marvel,  since 
this  process  of  "understanding" — as  we  call  it — brings  it  into  harmony 
with  the  rest  of  our  experience  :  but  till  we  have  reached  this  under- 
standing the  improbability  must  remain  solid  but  indefinite,  and  all  we 
can  do  is  to  weigh  this  improbability — not  in  any  scales  furnished  by 
exact  science,  but  in  the  rough  scales  of  common-sense — against  the 
improbability  that  the  testimony  should  be  false.  The  greater  the 
marvel,  the  better  must  be  the  testimony ;  of  that  common-sense  has 
no  doubt ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  say  precisely  what  accumulation  of 
testimony  is  required  to  balance  a  given  magnitude  of  marvel. 

Some  of  the  advocates  of  Modern  Spiritualism  are  inclined  to  join 
issue  with  common-sense  on  this  point.  They  say,  If  you  admit  that  the 
marvel  in  question  is  not  strictly  impossible,  and  the  testimony  would 
be  amply  sufficient,  in  quantity  and  quality,  to  establish  any  ordinary 
fact,  would  be  accepted  without  hesitation  in  law  courts,  and  in  the 
ordinary  affairs  of  life,  you  ought  not  bo  treat  it  with  exceptional  sus- 
picion because  the  fact  is  novel  and  extraordinary.  Now,  doubtless,  as 
Dr.  Butler  says,  "  Probability  is  the  guide  of  life,"  and,  therefore, 
when  it  is  highly  improbable  that  testimony  should  be  false,  we  treat 
this  improbability  as  if  it  were  equivalent  practically  to  negative 
certainty  in  ordinary  affairs.  But  this  only  happens  when  there  is  no 
opposing  improbability  of  equal  weight :  when  in  law  courts,  or  in 
ordinary  life  we  are  met  with  conflicting  improbabilities — as  (e.g.)  when 
two  generally  trustworthy  persons  contradict  each  other — then  the 
degree  of  improbability  of  either  being  wrong  has  to  be  roughly  esti- 
mated and  is  estimated  for  practical  purposes.  And,  similarly,  when 
the  improbability  of  a  marvel  is  met  by  the  improbability  of  testimony 
being  false,  we  have  to  make  some  kind  of  estimate  of  the  latter, 
and  in  so  doing  to  take  note  carefully  of  different  sources  of  possible 
error.  I  need  not  dwell  on  these  sources  of  error,  as  our  Proceedings 
have  by  this  time  made  us  all  very  familiar  with  the  different  species. 
The  chief  are  (1)  alteration  of  a  narrative  or  tradition,  when  it  is  not 
obtained  at  first  hand ;  (2)  errors  in  memory,  when  the  narrative  is  told 
after  lapse  of  time ;  (3)  errors  in  the  actual  apprehension  of  fact,  partly 
through  failure  to  observe  material  circumstances,  partly  through  the 
mingling  of  inference  with  observation.  But  as  regards  this  last  source 
of  error,  it  may  be  worth  while  to  observe  that  an  important  part  of 
our  work — in  collecting  evidence  for  telepathy — was  free  from  it,  and 
was  thereby  in  a  decidedly  advantageous  position  as  compared  (e.g.) 
with  the  inquiry  into  the  physical  phenomena  of  Spiritualism.  For  in 
the  proof  that  "  Phantasms  of  the  Living  "  are  sometimes  "  veridical " — 
i,e.,  correspond  to  deaths  or  other  critical  events  in  the  life  of  the 
persons  they  represent — we  are  only  concerned  with  observation  of  a 


1889.]    The  Canons  of  Evidence  in  Psychical  Research.  5 

mental  fact,  as  to  which  the  observer  cannot  be  mistaken :  in  his  state- 
ment that  a  distant  friend  appeared  to  be  in  his  room,  there  can  be  no 
erroneous  inference ;  error  only  comes  in  if  he  infers  that  the  friend 
was  physically  there.  The  fact  of  the  apparition  is  undeniable,  and 
that  fact  is  all  we  require  for  our  argument.  But  in  dealing  with  the 
evidence  for  physical  phenomena  this  source  of  error  has  to  be  guarded 
against.  If  a  man  tells  us  that  he  saw  a  table  get  off  the  ground  with 
no  one  touching  it,  though  the  fact  that  he  had  this  impression  is 
interesting  and  noteworthy,  it  is  not  complete  proof  of  the  levitation 
of  the  table ;  we  have  still  to  inquire  whether  the  impression  on  his 
mind  could  be  produced  otherwise  than  by  the  physical  fact.  If  there 
was  anyone  else  there,  it  is  pritnd  facie  possible  that  he  may  have 
produced  an  illusion  in  the  narrator's  mind  ;  therefore  it  becomes  need- 
ful (1)  to  study  the  art  of  producing  illusions,  and  (2)  to  examine  how 
far  the  situation  and  circumstances  of  the  narrator  at  the  time  at  which 
the  impression  was  produced,  gave  opportunities  for  the  exercise  of  this 
art.  We  have  also,  of  course,  to  consider  the  possibility  of  the  observer 
having  been  in  an  abnormal  state  of  nerves  or  mind,  tending  to  make 
self-deception  natural — and  even  perhaps  deception  of  others. 

My  object  now  is  not  to  emphasise  these  sources  of  error;  but 
rather  to  show  how  in  every  case  the  probabilities  are  only  capable  of 
being  vaguely  estimated  ;  and  how  in  many  cases  they  must  necessarily 
be  estimated  differently  by  different  persons,  according  to  their  know- 
ledge of  the  persons  concerned.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  I  feel  that  a 
part  of  my  grounds  for  believing  in  telepathy,  depending,  as  it  does, 
on  personal  knowledge,  cannot  be  communicated  except  in  a  weakened 
form  to  the  ordinary  reader  of  the  printed  statements  which  represent 
the  evidence  that  has  convinced  me.  Indeed,  I  feel  this  so  strongly 
that  I  have  always  made  it  my  highest  ambition  as  a  psychical  researcher 
to  produce  evidence  which  will  drive  my  opponents  to  doubt  my  honesty 
or  veracity ;  I  think  that  there  are  a  very  small  minority  of  persons 
who  will  not  doubt  them,  and  that  if  I  can  convince  them  I  have  done 
all  that  I  can  do :  as  regards  the  majority  even  of  my  own  acquaintances 
I  should  claim  no  more  than  an  admission  that  they  were  considerably 
surprised  to  find  me  in  the  trick. 

Perhaps  my  hearers  may  be  inclined  to  ask  me  whether,  having 
reduced  the  arguments  on  both  sides  to  this  degree  of  indefiniteness,  I 
wish  to  leave  the  matter  in  this  hazy  condition.  No ;  that  is  just 
what  I  do  not  wish  to  do.  But  I  think  it  will  be  a  long  process 
getting  it  out  of  this  condition,  and  one  that  demands  patience.  What 
anyone  has  to  do  who  is  convinced  himself  of  the  reality  of  any  alleged 
marvel,  is  first  to  try,  if  he  can,  to  diminish  the  improbability  of  the 
marvel  by  offering  an  explanation  which  harmonises  it  with  other  parts  of 
our  experience ;  and  second!/,  to  increase  the  improbability  on  t\vfc  &\fa 


6        The  Canons  of  Evidence  in  Psychical  Research.    [May 

of  the  testimony,  by  accumulating  experiences  and  varying  condit 
and  witnesses. 

And  may  I  conclude  by  saying  again  what  I  said  last  time,  that 
sidering  the  difficulties  in  which  our  investigation  is  involved,  I  thin 
unreasonable  to  complain  at  our  slow  rate  of  progress.  I  feel  confk 
that  if  at  the  end  of  the  next  seven  years  we  and  our  cause  have  n 
as  much  way  as  has  been  made  in  the  seven  that  have  elapsed, 
whole  attitude  of  at  least  the  progressive  past  of  the  scientific  wc 
in  relation  to  the  subjects  that  we  are  studying,  will  be  fundament 
changed. 


1889.]  The  Census  of  HallucinatioTis. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  GENERAL  MEETING  ON 

July  8th,    1889. 

The  thirty-third  General  Meeting  of  the  Society  was  held  at  the 
Westminster  Town  Hall,  on  July  8th,  1889. 

The  President,  Professor  Sidgwick,  in  the  Chair. 

The  programme  consisted  of  an  address  by  the  President,  and  a 
paper  by  Mr.  F.  W.  H.  Myers  on  "  Recognised  Apparitions 
Occurring  more  than  a  Year  after  Death,"  both  of  which  are  printed 
below. 

n. 

Address   by  the  President  on 
THE  CENSUS  OF  HALLUCINATIONS. 

It  is  known  to  all  members  and  associates  of  the  Society  for 
Psychical  Research — at  least  to  all  who  read  this  journal — that  an 
attempt  is  being  made  on  a  large  scale  to  obtain  as  accurate  statistics 
as  possible  relative  to  the  frequency,  the  specific  nature,  and — so  far 
as  may  be — the  causes  of  what  I  will  briefly  call  Hallucinations. 

The  scale  on  which  we  are  planning  our  census  of  Hallucinations 
is  an  ambitious  one  :  it  must  be  an  ambitious  one  if  we  are  to  succeed 
in  our  aim  ;  I  do  not  think  we  can  be  satisfied  with  less  than  50,000 
answers  to  the  first  and  most  general  question  that  we  are  asking ; 
and  if  we  are  to  get  50,000  answers,  we  want  a  great  deal  more  assis- 
tance than  we  have  as  yet  got. 

I  wish  to  express  my  gratitude,  and  the  gratitude  of  those  who  are 
working  with  me,  to  the  members  and  others  who  are  aiding  us  in  this 
toilsome  task  ;  at  the  same  time,  I  wish  to  urge  on  all  members  and 
associates  who  have  not  yet  offered  aid  that  this  is  eminently  a  task  for 
co-operative  labour,  in  which  everyone  interested  in  Psychical  Research 
ought  to  take  a  share.  A  copy  of  the  single  question  that  we  wish  to 
be  asked  in  all  cases  has  been  sent  to  every  member  and  associate, 
with  spaces  for  25  answers  ;  we  shall  be  happy  to  send  any  more  copies 
to  anyone  who  will  apply  for  them ;  and  if  every  member  and  associate 
would  only  collect  a  single  batch  of  twenty-five  answers,  and 
persuade  some  one  friend  to  collect  another  batch,  we  should  get  in 
this  way  over  30,000  answers  and  should  have  no  doubt  of  being  able 
to  make  up  our  50,000. 

I  fear,  however,  that  it  is  too  much  to  expect  this  universal 
co-operation.  I  hope,  therefore,  that  every  zealous  person  will  collect, 
either  personally   or  by  friends,  as  many  batches  as  possftAfc.     KxA  \ 


8  The  Census  of  Hallucinations.  [July  8t 

may  add  that  we  shall  equally  welcome  assistance  from  persons  who 
are  not  members  or  associates.  I  ought  to  add  that  we  have  carefully 
framed  our  question  so  that  we  may  fairly  ask  for  co-operation  from 
persons  of  all  opinions ;  it  does  not  imply  either  belief  or  disbelief  in 
the  reality  of  ghosts,  or  in  telepathy,  or  in  any  other  explanation  of  the 
phenomena  inquired  into.  It  runs  as  follows :  "  Have  you  ever, 
when  believing  yourself  to  be  completely  awake,  had  a  vivid  impression 
of  seeing  or  being  touched  by  a  living  being  or  inanimate  object,  or  of 
hearing  a  voice,  which  impression,  so  far  as  you  could  discover,  was 
not  due  to  an  external  physical  cause  ?  "  I  hope  it  will  be  seen  how 
impartially  the  question  has  been  framed.  The  most  bigoted  Materialist 
does  not  deny  that  certain  persons  have  the  impressions  here  described; 
the  most  convinced  Spiritualist  does  not  usually  attribute  them  to  an 
"  external  physical  cause." 

This  leads  me  to  say  a  word  on  the  general  term  used  to  denote 
these  experiences.  We  require  some  one  general  term,  and  the  best 
that  we  can  find  to  include  all  the  species  is  "  Hallucination."  I 
admit  the  word  to  be  open  to  some  objection  ;  because  some  people 
naturally  understand  from  it  that  the  impression  so  described  is 
entirely  false  and  morbid.  But  I  need  not  say  to  readers  of 
"  Phantasms  "  that  this  is  not  our  view :  many  of  these  experiences — 
though  doubtless  they  all  involve  some  disturbance  of  the  normal 
action  of  the  nervous  system — have  no  traceable  connection  with 
disease  of  any  kind :  and  a  certain  number  of  them  are,  as  we  hold, 
reasonably  regarded  as  "  veridical "  or  truth-telling ;  they  imply  in 
the  percipient  a  capacity  above  the  normal  of  receiving  knowledge, 
under  certain  rare  conditions. 

Why,  then,  it  may  be  asked,  do  we  use  a  term  that  implies 
erroneous  and  illusory  belief?  I  answer,  first,  because  in  every  experi- 
ence  that  we  call  a  Hallucination  there  is  an  element  of  erroneous 
belief,  though  it  may  be  only  momentary,  and  though  it  may  be  the 
means  of  communicating  a  truth  that  could  not  otherwise  have  been 
known.  If  I  seem  to  see  the  form  of  a  friend  pass  through  my  room, 
I  must  have  momentarily  the  false  belief  that  his  physical  organism  is 
occupying  a  portion  of  the  space  of  my  room,  though  a  moment's  reflection 
may  convince  me  that  this  is  not  so,  and  though  I  may  immediately 
draw  the  inference  that  he  is  passing  through  a  crisis  of  life  some  miles 
off,  and  this  inference  may  turn  out  to  be  true.  In  the  case  of  a 
recurrent  Hallucination  known  to  be  such,  we  cannot  say  that  the 
false  belief  ever  completely  dominates  the  percipient's  mind ;  but  still,  I 
conceive,  it  is  partially  there ;  here  is  an  appearance  that  has  to  be 
resisted  by  memory  and  judgment. 

It  is,   then,  this  element  of  error — perhaps  only  momentary  and 
^rtial — which  is  implied  in  our  term  "  HaUucmaium"   oiv&  %o  tcy\x<iV 


1889.]  The  Census  of  HaUucvnations.  9 

will  be  admitted  by  most  intelligent  believers  in  ghosts :  for  there  are 
few  of  such  believers  who  really  hold  that  a  ghost  is  actually  seen  as 
an  ordinary  material  object  is  seen :  i.e.,  that  it  affects  the  percipient's 
eyes  from  the  outside  by  reflecting  rays  of  light  on  them.  But  we  wish 
even  those  ghost-seers  who  hold  this  belief  to  have  no  difficulty  in  answer- 
ing "  Yes  "  to  our  general  question  :  and  therefore  in  framing  it  we 
avoided  the  word  "  Hallucination,"  though  we  have  thought  ourselves 
justified  in  using  it  in  the  "  Instructions  to  Collectors  "  at  the  back  of 
the  paper. 

And  all  would  certainly  admit  that  in  many  cases  "  Hallucination  " 
is  the  only  proper  term.  For  instance,  one  of  our  informants  saw  a 
hand  and  arm  apparently  suspended  from  the  ceiling — the  owner  of 
the  real  counterpart  of  this  hand  and  arm  being  alive  and  heard  at  the 
time  moving  about  in  the  next  room. 

The  word  "  apparition  "  is,  no  doubt,  a  neutral  word  that  might  be 
used  of  all  visual  experiences  of  this  kind  ;  but  it  could  only  be  used  of 
visual  cases.  Usage  would  not  allow  us  to  apply  it  to  apparent  sounds 
or  apparent  touches. 

I  think,  then,  that  we  must  use  "  hallucinations  of  the  senses  "  as  a 
general  term  for  the  experiences  we  are  collecting :  meaning  simply  to 
denote  by  it  a  sensory  effect  which  we  cannot  attribute  to  any  external 
physical  cause  of  the  kind  that  would  ordinarily  produce  this  effect. 
In  some  cases  we  can  refer  it  clearly  to  a  physical  cause  within  the 
organism — some  temporary  or  permanent  physical  condition.  In  other 
cases — quite  apart  from  telepathy — it  is  equally  clear  that  the  cause  is 
primarily  psychical.  For  instance,  in  the  case  of  persons  who  have 
been  hypnotised,  it  may  result  from  a  post-hypnotic  order.  Thus  in  an 
article  by  Mr.  Gurney,  in  Proceedings,  Part  XII.,  pp.  12,  13,  there  is  an 
interesting  account  of  the  result  of  a  suggestion  made  by  him  to  a 
subject  named  Zillah  in  the  hypnotic  trance,  that  she  would  have  a 
hallucination  of  him  at  a  certain  fixed  time  on  the  following  day  ;  and 
there  is  a  letter  from  Zillah's  mistress  describing  the  surprise  caused 
to  Zillah  by  seeing  Mr.  Gurney  come  into  the  kitchen  and  say  "  Good- 
afternoon,"  at  the  appointed  time.  Here  we  can  trace  the  origin  of  the 
idea  which  thus  externalised  itself.  In  other  cases,  as  with  the  arm 
above  mentioned,  the  idea  arises  spontaneously  by  association  or  other- 
wise in  the  mind.  In  other  cases,  again,  the  idea  which  thus  externalises 
itself  may,  as  we  believe,  come  into  the  mind  from  the  mind  of  a 
person  at  a  distance — the  idea  of  a  dying  friend  reaching  us  from  his 
mind  and  rising  above  the  threshold  of  consciousness  in  the  form  of  a 
hallucination,  just  as  the  idea  of  Mr.  Gurney  rose  above  the 
threshold  of  consciousness  in  Zillah's  case  in  the  form  of  a  hallucination. 
A  link  between  the  two  is  afforded  by  those  rare  and  interesting 
cases,  of  which  several  have  been  recorded  in  the  publications  oi  out 


10  The  Census  of  Hallucinations.  [July  8, 

Society,  where  one  person  is  able  from  a  distance  and  by  a  mental  pro- 
cess alone  to  cause  an  apparition  of  himself  to  another.  We  have  reason 
to  think  that  the  resulting  sensory  effect  is  in  all  these  cases  essentially 
the  same,  though  the  cause  of  it  is  very  different  in  different  cases  ;  and, 
therefore,  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  it  seems  best  to  apply 
the  term  "  hallucination  "  to  all. 

I  have  dwelt  thus  long  upon  the  use  of  the  word  hallucination — 
because    the    discussion   brings   out  incidentally   the   importance   of 
making  the  statistical  inquiry  we  are  engaged  in  as  to  the  kind  of 
hallucinations  that  occur,  and  the  proportion  of  people  that  experience 
them.     It  is  clear  from  what  we  have  said  that  the  subject  of  hallu- 
cinations is  of  importance  to  psychologists  and  physiologists,  for  whom 
they  throw  light  on  the  workings  of  the  mind  and  senses.     And  it  is 
also  of  some  practical  use  to  inquire  into  them  with  a  view  to  dispelling 
the  alarm  they  frequently  cause.      But  it  is  for  those  interested  in 
Psychical  Research  that  they  are  at  present  most  important — and  that 
whether  they  are  supporters  or  opponents.     For  those  who  believe  in 
telepathy  it  is  of  course  very  important  to  study  as  completely   as 
possible  the  mode  in  which,  as  it  appears,  telepathically  imparted  ideas 
are  apt  to  manifest  themselves.     But,  apart  from  this,  it  is  absolutely 
necessary,  in  order  to  prove  that  the  hallucinations  of  dying  persons 
are  really  connected  with  their  death,  to  form  some  idea  of  the  relative 
frequency  of  such  hallucinations  compared  with  those  which  do  not 
correspond  with  any  external  event.     Apparitions  of  living  persons 
when  nothing  seemingly  is    happening  to  them  are    common- — much 
commoner  than  veridical  ones.     Mr.  Gurney  calculated  that,  if  a  man 
saw  an  apparition  of  his  friend,  he  would  be  justified  in  assuming  the 
chance  that  his  friend  had  died  within  an  hour  of  that  time  as  about 
1  in  40.     If  this  conclusion  be  correctly  drawn  from  adequate  data,  we 
need  not  feel  extremely  alarmed  about  our  friend  if  we  see  his-apparition; 
though,  at  the  same  time,  the  frequency  of  the  coincidence  is  very  far 
beyond  what  chance  would  give.     But  it  has  been  doubted  whether  the 
number  of  answers  which  Mr.  Gurney  collected — 5,700 — is   sufficient 
to  give  accurately   the  proportion  of  the  population  who  have  seen 
apparitions ;  and    Mr.   Gurney  himself  considered  it  quite  insufficient 
to  determine  the  proportion  of  coincidental   to  non-coincidental  cases. 
To  arrive  at  this  he  endeavoured   to  form  an  estimate  of  the  size  of 
the  circle  from  which  our  veridical  cases  are  drawn.     This  is  necessarily 
extremely    uncertain,    and   though    I  think    the    estimate    given    in 
PJiantasms  is  probably  in  excess  of   the  truth  and   therefore   allows 
a  margin  against  the  telepathic  hypothesis,    this  view  has  not  been 
taken  by  critics  of  that  work,  some  of   whom  think  that  the  circle  has 
not  been  assumed  large  enough.     At  any  rate  we  should  all  agree  with 
the  critics  in    thinking   that   it   would  be  muc\x  Ytetofex  Si  ^*  ws-oid 


1889.]  The  Census  of  HaUuvmations.  11 

dispense  with  conjecture  altogether  and  know  the  experiences  of  a 
sufficient  number  of  persons  to  enable  us  to  tell  from  the  statistics 
alone  what  proportion  of  the  population  have  hallucinations  and  what 
proportion  of  these  are  coincidental.  If  we  can  collect  50,000  answers 
I  think  we  could  do  this,  but  the  coincidental  cases  are  too  rare  for  us 
to  rely  on  a  smaller  number. 

[Some  account  of  the  progress  of  the  census  so  far  was  here  given. 
An  account  of  the  answers  received  up  to  October  24th,  1889,  will  be 
found  in  the  Supplement.] 

I  have  tried  to  show  that  all  the  phenomena  to  which  our  question 
relates — veridical  or  not — should  be  called  hallucinations.  I  must, 
however,  admit  that  it  is  not  very  easy  to  draw  the  line  unmistakably 
between  what  is  a  hallucination  and  what  is  not.  The  difficulty  meets 
us  in  all  directions.  For  instance,  are  sounds  heard  in  a  so-called 
haunted  house  hallucinations  or  are  they  real  sounds?  This  question 
would  be  answered  differently  by  different  persons,  and  it  was  because 
we  felt  that  hopeless  ambiguity  would  be  introduced  into  our  results 
by  including  noises  as  distinct  from  voices  that  we  limited  our  inquiry 
in  auditory  experiences  to  voices.  But  the  difficulty  of  drawing 
the  line  is  not  thus  entirely  avoided.  It  is  often  difficult  to  decide  on 
the  degree  of  externalisation  of  an  experience  both  in  visual  and 
auditory  cases.  For  instance,  it  may  be  asked — how  does  a  vivid 
visual  impression  seen  with  the  eyes  shut  count,  and  how  does  this 
differ  from  an  apparition  seen  in  the  dark  ?  Or  again,  how  far  is  the 
kind  of  experience  which  is  sometimes  described  as  an  internal  voice, 
or  as  a  soundless  sound,  an  auditory  hallucination  ?  I  do  not  think 
that  in  fact  there  is  any  sharp  line  between  such  a  mental  image  as 
most  of  us  can  call  up  and  a  genuine  hallucination — experiences  of  all 
degrees  of  externalisation  occur  between  the  two.  There  are  some 
which  we  have  no  hesitation  in  calling  hallucinations  and  some  which 
we  can  equally  confidently  say  are  not,  but  there  are  some  which  it  is 
difficult  to  decide  about.  As  regards  these,  I  would  say  to  those  who 
answer  our  question — put  down  either  yes  or  a  query,  and  give  details, 
leaving  to  the  Committee  who  will  have  to  analyse  the  results  the 
burden  of  deciding  how  they  should  be  classed. 

One  other  point  of  doubt  about  our  question  may  here  be  men- 
tioned. We  determined  to  secure  as  far  as  possible  that  our  answers 
should  be  the  bond  fide  answers  of  grown-up  people  by  asking  the 
question  only  of  people  who  have  attained  the  age  of  21.  But  we 
did  not  mean  by  this,  as  has  been  understood  in  some  cases,  to 
exclude  experiences  which  had  occurred  to  those  answering  at  any  age. 

Again  some  collectors  have  asked  me  whether  uneducated  people 
may  be  included  in  the  census.  There  is  no  objection  to  this — indeed 
I  think  it  desirable  to  include  al]    classes — but   collectors   ^wiSX  faA. 


12  The  Cenms  of  HMucinations.  [July  8, 

that  a  good  deal  of  care  and  trouble  must  be  taken  to    make    sure 
that  uneducated  people  quite  understand  the  question. 

I  have  kept  to  the  last  the  most  important  of  the  special  points  to 
which  I  wish  to  draw  attention.  It  is  not  only  necessary,  as  I  have 
said,  that  our  census  shall  be  sufficiently  extensive,  but  it  is  also  of 
fundamental  importance  that  it  shall  be  impartial,  that  the  collector 
should  not  yield  to  any  bias  in  favour  of  collecting  either  positive  or 
negative  answers.  It  is,  of  course,  natural  that  the  collector  should  be 
more  interested  in  obtaining  experiences  of  the  positive  kind,  and  it  is, 
of  course,  very  probable  that  when  it  is  known  in  his  circle  of  friends 
and  acquaintances  that  he  is  making  this  collection,  that  cases  of  such 
experiences  should  be  mentioned  to  him.  It  is,  however,  obvious  that 
if  answers  to  which  he  is  directed  in  this  way  were  simply  included  in 
his  list  without  any  special  mark,  the  impartiality  of  the  result  would 
be  fundamentally  vitiated.  In  order  to  guard  against  this  danger, 
and  at  the  same  time  not  to  lose  any  information  which  might  have  an 
important  value  for  our  inquiry,  we  advise  all  our  collectors  when  they 
send  in  their  lists,  to  put  a  cross  against  any  answer  the  nature  of  which 
was  known  to  them  through  information  received  before  they  asked  the 
question. 


1889.]  On  Recognised  Apparitions.  13 


III. 

ON      RECOGNISED     APPARITIONS     OCCURRING     MORE 

THAN    A   TEAR    AFTER    DEATH.1 

By  F.  W.  H.  Myers. 


The  last  Part  of  these  Proceedings  included  an  exposition, — begun 
by  the  late  Mr.  Edmund  Gurney  and  completed  by  myself, — of  the 
principal  cases  in  our  possession  where  an  apparition  occurring  soon 
after  the  death  of  the  person  figured  seems  plausibly  referable  to  some 
other  than  a  merely  subjective  origin ; — seems,  in  fact,  to  have  been 
telepathic  or  veridical, — a  real  communication  from  some  mind  outside 
the  percipient's  own.  In  choosing  these  cases  a  line  was  drawn  at  a 
year  after  death ;  — a  line  partly  arbitrary,  but  partly  determined  by 
the  fact  that  after  that  lapse  of  time  recognised  apparitions  with  even 
a  prima  facie  claim  to  be  classed  as  veridical,  become  exceedingly  rare. 

They  are  rare,  and  they  are  in  many  ways  perplexing ;  but  it  is 
none  the  less  our  duty  to  discuss  theni.  Inconclusive  when  considered 
by  themselves,  they  are  full  of  instruction  when  we  compare  them  with 
the  larger  groups  which  include  apparitions  at  or  shortly  after  death. 

The  momentous  step,  of  course,  is  already  taken  so  soon  as  we 
consent  to  refer  any  post-mortem  apparition, — dating  even  from  the 
morrow  of  the  death, — to  the  continued  agency  of  the  decedent.  Few 
readers  will  question  the  assumption  that  in  that  unknown  journey 
ce  riest  que  le  premier  pas  qui  codte. 

And  since  we  are  standing  here  on  the  threshold  of  new  per- 
plexities, let  us  pause  for  a  moment  and  consider  what  is  the 
phenomenon  which  we  are  looking  for, — what  connotation  we  are  to 
give  to  the  word  "ghost," — a  word  which  has  embodied  so  many 
unfounded  theories  and  causeless  fears.  It  would  be  more  satisfactory, 
in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  simply  to  collect  facts  without 
offering  speculative  comment.  But  it  seems  safer  to  begin  by  briefly 
pointing  out  the  manifest  errors  of  the  traditional  view  ;  since  that 

1  The  papers  in  these  Proceedings  which  deal  with  evidence  aim  rather  at  setting 
forth  that  evidence  accurately  and  impartially  than  at  expressing — what  is  compara- 
tively unimportant — the  precise  degree  of  belief  at  which  the  writer  himself  may 
have  arrived.  But  in  these  papers  on  posthumous  apparitions  the  hypotheses 
discussed  are  at  once  so  momentous  and  so  disputable  that  it  seems  well  to  repeat  here 
the  notice  prefixed  to  all  these  Proceedings,  and  to  remind  the  reader  that  I  am  not 
speaking  as  the  mouthpiece  of  my  colleagues  in  the  Council  of  the  S.P.R.  Various 
converging  lines  of  evidence  have  led  me  individually  to  think  it  probable  that  in  some 
at  least  of  the  cases  here  cited  there  has  been  a  real  agency  of  deceased  persons.  But 
no  one  else  is  responsible  for  that  opinion ;  nor  do  I  even  claim  ttoaX  t\&  vrutaxusfe 
cited  is  enough  to  prove  its  truth. 


14  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  8, 

tradition,  if  left  unnoticed,  would  remain  lodged  in  the  background 
even  of  many  minds  which  have  never  really  accepted  it. 

Briefly,  then,  the  popular  view  regards  a  "ghost"  as  a  deceased 
person  permitted  by  Providence  to  hold  communication  with  survivors. . 
And  this  short  definition  contains,  I  think,  at  least  three  unwarrantable 
assumptions. 

In  the  first  place,  such  words  as  permission  and  Providence  are 
simply  neither  more  nor  less  applicable  to  this  phenomenon  than  to 
any  other.  We  conceive  that  all  phenomena  alike  take  place  in 
accordance  with  the  laws  of  the  universe ; — and  consequently  by 
permission  of  the  Supreme  Power  in  the  universe.  Undoubtedly  the 
phenomena  with  which  we  are  dealing  are  in  this  sense  permitted  to 
occur.  But  there  is  no  a  priori  reason  whatever  for  assuming  that 
they  are  permitted  in  any  especial  sense  of  their  own,  or  that  they  form 
exceptions  to  law,  instead  of  being  exemplifications  of  law.  Nor  is 
there  any  a  posteriori  reason  for  thus  supposing, — any  such  inference 
deducible  from  a  study  of  the  phenomena  themselves.  If  we  attempt 
to  find  in  these  phenomena  any  poetical  justice,  or  manifest  adaptation 
to  human  cravings,  we  shall  be  just  as  much  disappointed  as  if  we 
endeavoured  to  find  a  similar  satisfaction  in  the  ordinary  course  of 
terrene  history. 

In  the  second  place,  we  have  no  warrant  for  the  assumption  that 
the  phantom  seen,  even  though  it  be  somehow  caused  by  a  deceased 
person,  is  that  deceased  person,  in  any  ordinary  sense  of  the  word. 
Instead  of  appealing  to  the  crude  analogy  of  the  living  friend  who, 
when  he  has  walked  into  the  room,  is-  in  the  room,  we  shall  find  for  the 
ghost  a  much  closer  parallel  in  those  hallucinatory  figures  or  phantasms 
which  living  persons  can  sometimes  project  at  a  distance.  When 
Baron  von  Notzing,  for  instance,  caused  by  an  effort  of  will 
an  apparition  of  himself  to  a  waking  percipient,  out  of  sight,  he  was 
himself  awake  and  conscious  in  the  place  where,  not  his  phantom  but 
his  body  stood.  Whatever,  then,  that  phantom  was, — however 
generated  or  conditioned, — we  cannot  say  that  it  was  himself.  And 
equally  unjustifiable  must  be  the  common  parlance  which  speaks  of  the 
ghost  as  though  it  were  the  decedent  himself — a  revenant  coming  back 
amongst  living  men. 

All  this,  of  course,  will  be  already  familiar  to  most  of  my  readers, 

and  only  needs  repetition  here  because  experience  shows  that  when — as 

with  these  post-mortem  phantoms — the  decedent  has  gone  well  out  of 

sight  or  reach,  there  is  a  fresh  tendency  (so  to  say)  to  anthropomorphise 

the   apparition;    to   suppose   that,    as   the   decedent  is  not  provably 

anywhere  else,  he  is  probably  here ;  and  that  the  apparition  is  bound 

behave  accordingly.     All  such  assumptions  must  Y»  d\svaias&d^  and 

hantom  must   be  taken  on  its  merits, — as  imi\e»fe\n%  \a«t^3  * 


1889.]  More  than  a  Year  after  Death.  15 

certain  connection  with  the  decedent,  the  precise  nature  of  that 
connection  being  a  part  of  the  problem  to  be  solved. 

And  in  the  third  place,  just  as  we  cease  to  say  that  the  phantom  is 
the  decedent,  so  also  must  we  cease  to  ascribe  to  the  phantom  the 
motives  by  which  we  imagine  that  the  decedent  might  be  swayed.  We 
most  therefore  exclude  from  our  definition  of  a  ghost  any  words  which 
assume  its  intention  to  communicate  with  the  living.  It  may  bear 
such  a  relation  to  the  decedent  that  it  can  reflect  or  represent  his 
presumed  wish  to  communicate,  or  it  may  not.  If,  for  instance,  its 
relation  to  his  postmortem  life  be  like  the  relation  of  my  dreams  to  my 
earthly  life,  it  may  represent  little  that  is  truly  his,  save  such  vague 
memories  and  instincts  as  give  a  dim  individuality  to  each  man's  trivial 
dreams. 

Let  us  attempt,  then,  a  truer  definition.  Instead  of  describing  a 
"  ghost "  as  a  dead  person  permitted  to  communicate  with  the  living, 
let  us  define  it  as  a  manifestation  of  persistent  personal  energy, — or  as 
an  indication  that  some  kind  of  force  is  being  exercised  after  death 
which  is  in  some  way  connected  with  a  person  previously  known  on 
earth.  In  this  definition  we  have  eliminated,  as  will  be  seen,  a  great 
mass  of  popular  assumptions.  Yet  we  must  introduce  a  further 
proviso,  lest  our  definition  still  seem  to  imply  an  assumption  which  we 
have  no  right  to  make.  It  is  theoretically  possible  that  this  force  or 
influence  which,  after  a  man's  death,  creates  a  phantasmal  impression 
of  him,  may  indicate  no  continuing  action  on  his  part,  but  may  be  some 
residue  of  the  force  or  energy  which  he  generated  while  yet  alive. 
There  may  be  veridical  after-images ; — such  as  Mr.  Gurney  hints  at 
(Proceedings,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  417),  when  in  his  comments  on  the  recurring 
figure  of  an  old  woman ; — seen  on  the  bed  where  she  was  murdered, — 
he  remarks  that  this  figure  suggests  "not  so  much  any  continuing  local 
action  on  the  part  of  the  deceased  person,  as  the  survival  of  a  mere 
image,  impressed,  we  cannot  <*uess  how,  on  we  cannot  guess  what,  by 
that  person's  physical  org&iiism,  and  perceptible  at  times  to  those 
endowed  with  some  cognate  form  of  sensitiveness." 

Strange  as  this  notion  may  seem,  it  is  strongly  suggested  by  many 
of  the  cases  of  haunting  which  do  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  the 
present  paper.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Mrs.  Sidgwick's  paper  on 
Phantasms  of  the  Dead  brought  out  the  fact  that  there  is  strong 
evidence  for  the  recurrence  of  the  same  hallucinatory  figures  in 
the  same  localities,  but  weak  evidence  to  indicate  any  purpose  in 
most  of  these  figures,  or  any  connection  with  bygone  individuals,  or 
with  such  tragedies  as  are  popularly  supposed  to  start  a  ghost  on  its 
career.  In  some  of  these  cases  of  frequent,  meaningless  recurrence 
of  a  figure  in  a  given  spot,  we  are  driven  to  wonder  whether  it  raav 
be  some  decedents  past  frequentation  of  that  spot,  rather  V\i&tl  ^.t^ 


16  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  8, 

fresh  action  of  his  after  death,  which  has  generated  what  I  have 
termed  the  veridical  after-image, — veridical  in  the  sense  that  it  com- 
municates information,  previously  unknown  to  the  percipient,  as  to  a 
former  inhabitant  of  the  haunted  locality. 

Such  are  some  of  the  questions  which  our  evidence  suggests.  And 
I  may  point  out  that  the  very  fact  that  such  bizarre  problems  should 
present  themselves  at  every  turn  does  in  a  certain  sense  tend  to  show* 
that  these  apparitions  are  not  purely  subjective  things, — do  not 
originate  merely  in  the  percipient's  imagination.  For  they  are  not  like 
what  any  man  would  have  imagined.  What  man's  mind  tends  to  fancy 
on  such  topics  may  be  seen  in  the  endless  crop  of  fictitious  ghost-stories; 
— which  furnish,  indeed,  a  curious  proof  of  the  persistence  of  pre- 
conceived notions.  For  they  go  on  being  framed  according  to  canons 
of  their  own,  and  deal  with  a  set  of  imaginary  phenomena  quite 
different  from  those  which  actually  occur.  The  actual  phenomena,  I 
may  add,  could  scarcely  be  made  romantic.  One  true  "  ghost-story  " 
is  apt  to  be  very  like  another ; — and  all  to  be  fragmentary  and 
apparently  meaningless.  Their  meaning,  that  is  to  say,  lies  in  their 
conformity,  not  to  the  mythopceic  instinct  of  mankind,  which  fabricates 
and  enjoys  the  fictitious  tales,  but  to  some  unknown  law,  not  based  on 
human  sentiment  or  convenience  at  all. 

And  thus,  absurdly  enough,  we  sometimes  hear  men  ridicule  the 
phenomena  which  actually  do  happen,  simply  because  those  phenomena 
do  not  suit  their  preconceived  notions  of  what  ghostly  phenomena 
ought  to  be ; — not  perceiving  that  this  very  divergence,  this  very 
unexpectedness,  is  in  itself  no  slight  indication  of  an  origin  outside  the 
minds  which  obviously  were  so  far  from  anticipating  anything  of  the  kind. 

All  this  needs  to  be  remembered  before  we  approach  the  special 
cases  which  form  the  subject  of  this  paper.  For  the  narratives  on 
which  we  shall  now  have  to  dwell  are  precisely  those  which  do  the  most 
nearly  correspond  to  the  popular  view  of  what  a  ghost  should  be.  They 
are  cases,  at  any  rate,  where  the  figure  was  recognised,  and  in  some  of 
which  there  was  an  apparent  object  in  its  appearance.  ,  It  is,  of  course, 
not  the  emotional  but  the  evidential  value  of  these  recognitions  which 
interests  us  here.  The  identification  of  a  figure  previously  unknown, 
or  of  a  previously  known  figure  under  certain  conditions,  is  naturally  a 
point  de  repere  of  first-rate  evidential  importance. 

Two  main  points  have  to  be  made  clear  in  every  such  case.  Firstly, 
we  have  to  assure  ourselves  that  the  apparition  was  really  veridical, — 
not  a  mere  subjective  hallucination,  or  a  trick  of  memory,  or  a  hoax. 
And,  secondly,  we  have  to  make  sure  that  it  was  really  recognised  ; — 
that  some  kind  of  link  existed  between  the  phantasm  and  some 
deceased  person.  Some  kind  of  link  we  demand  *,  but  what  that  link 
*ie, — in  what  sense  the  ghost  represents  tYie  decedent, — ^\&  \&  ova 


1889.]  More  than  a  Year  after  Death.  17 

most  perplexing  question.  And  in  order  to  get  what  light  we  can  on 
this  point,  it  will  be  well  to  arrange  our  cases  in  what  may  be  called  a 
descending  scale  of  personality ; — beginning  with  those  where  there 
seems  to  be  an  intelligent  purpose  in  the  phantom ;  then  giving  those 
where  there  seems  to  be  a  purpose,  but  not  in  our  sense  an  intelligent 
one ;  and  lastly,  taking  those  where  no  purpose  is  discernible,  but  the 
whole  manifestation  seems  like  a  dead  man's  incoherent  dream. 

The  difficulties  and  weaknesses  of  the  evidence  will  be  pointed  out 
as  we  proceed.  And  finally  we  may  discuss,  by  the  aid  of  such 
analogies  as  we  possess,  what  are  the  least  improbable  conjectures 
which  we  can  form  as  to  the  nature  of  these  phantoms,  and  what  light 
our  evidence  throws  upon  any  theory  of  post-mortem  existence. 

1.  Let  us  begin,  then,  with  phantoms  raised,  so  to  say,  to  their 
highest  power; — apparently  showing  intelligence,  and  knowledge  of 
earthly  matters.  Are  there  any  grounds,  we  may  in  the  first  place  ask, 
for  the  popular  notion  that  ghosts  may  possess  more  knowledge  of 
things  on  earth  than  survivors  possess  1  Especially  that  they  come  to 
warn  of  death  or  disaster  which  for  men  on  earth  is  still  hidden  in 
obscurity  ?  Or  can  they  discern  physical  dangers, — robbers,  precipices, 
or  the  like, — which  the  living  man  fails  to  see?  and  do  they  ever 
intervene  to  guide  or  protect  him  ? 

It  will  be  seen  that  we  have  very  little  evidence  which  points  to 
such  powers  as  these.  I  will  begin  with  the  most  striking  case  ; — one 
which  was  sent  in  1887  to  the  American  S.P.R.  Professor  Royce  and 
Mr.  Hodgson  vouch  for  the  high  character  and  good  position  of  the 
informants ;  and  it  will  be  seen  that,  besides  the  percipient  himself,  his 
father  and  brother  are  first-hand  witnesses  as  regards  the  most 
important  point ; — the  effect  produced  by  a  certain  symbolic  item  in 
the  phantom's  aspect. 

I. — From  Mr.  F.  G.,  Boston. 

Janttary  11th,  1888. 

Sir, — Replying  to  the  recently  published  request  of  your  Society  for 
actual  occurrences  of  psychical  phenomena,  I  respectfully  submit  the  fol- 
lowing remarkable  occurrence  to  the  consideration  of  your  distinguished 
Society,  with  the  assurance  that  the  event  made  a  more  powerful  impression 
on  my  mind  than  the  combined  incidents  of  my  whole  life.  I  have  never 
mentioned  it  outside  of  my  family  and  a  few  intimate  friends,  knowing  well 
that  few  would  believe  it,  or  else  ascribe  it  to  some  disordered  state  of  my 
mind  at  the  time,  but  I  well  know  I  never  was  in  better  health  or 
possessed  a  clearer  head  and  mind  than  at  the  time  it  occurred. 

In  1867,  my  only  sister,  a  young  lady  of  18  years,  died  suddenly  of 
cholera,  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.  My  attachment  for  her  was  very  strong,  and  the 
blow  a  severe  one  to  me.  A  year  or  so  after  her  death,  the  writer  became  a 
commercial  traveller,  and  it  was  in  1876  while  on  one  of  my  Western  trips 
that  the  event  occurred. 


18  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  8, 

I  had  "  drummed  "  the  city  of  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  and  had  gone  to  my 
room  at  the  Pacific  House  to  send  in  my  orders,  which  were  unusually  large 
ones,  so  that  I  was  in  a  very  happy  frame  of  mind  indeed.  My  thoughts,  of 
course,  were  about  these  orders,  knowing  how  pleased  my  house  would  be  at 
my  success.  I  had  not  been  thinking  of  my  late  sister,  or  in  any  manner 
reflecting  on  the  past.  The  hour  was  high  noon,  and  the  sun  was  shining 
cheerfully  into  my  room.  While  busily  smoking  a  cigar,  and  writing  out  my 
orders,  I  suddenly  became  conscious  that  some  one  was  sitting  on  my  left, 
with  one  arm  resting  on  the  table.  Quick  as  a  flash  I  turned  and  distinctly 
saw  the  form  of  my  dead  sister,  and  for  a  brief  second  or  so  looked  her 
squarely  in  the  face  ;  and  so  sure  was  I  that  it  was  she,  that  I  sprang  forward 
in  delight,  calling  her  by  name,  and,  as  I  did  so,  the  apparition  instantly 
vanished.  Naturally  I  was  startled  and  dumbfounded,  almost  doubting  my 
senses  ;  but  the  cigar  in  my  mouth,  and  pen  in  hand,  with  the  ink  still  moist 
on  my  letter,  I  satisfied  myself  I  had  not  been  dreaming  and  was  wide  awake. 
I  was  near  enough  to  touch  her,  had  it  been  a  physical  possibility,  and  noted 
her  features,  expression,  and  details  of  dress,  &c.  She  appeared  as  if  alive. 
Her  eyes  looked  kindly  and  perfectly  natural  into  mine.  Her  skin  was  so 
life-like  that  I  could  see  the  glow  or  moisture  on  its  surface,  and,  on  the 
whole,  there  was  no  change  in  her  appearance,  otherwise  than  when  alive. 

Now  comes  the  most  remarkable  confirmation  of  my  statement,  which 
cannot  be  doubted  by  those  who  know  what  I  state  actually  occurred.  This 
visitation,  or  whatever  you  may  call  it,  so  impressed  me  that  I  took  the  next 
train  home,  and  in  the  presence  of  my  parents  and  others  I  related  what 
had  occurred.  My  father,  a  man  of  rare  good  sense  and  very  practical,  was 
inclined  to  ridicule  me,  as  he  saw  how  earnestly  I  believed  what  I  stated  ; 
but  he,  too,  was  amazed  when  later  on  I  told  them  of  a  bright  red  line  or 
scratch  on  the  right-hand  side  of  my  sister's  face,  which  I  distinctly  had 
seen.  When  I  mentioned  this,  my  mother  rose  trembling  to  hejjeet  and 
nearly  fainted  away,  and  as  soon  as  she  sufficiently  recovered  her  self- 
possession,  with  tears  streaming  down  her  face,  she  exclaimed  that  I  had 
indeed  seen  my  sister,  as  no  living  mortal  but  herself  was  aware  of  that  scratch, 
which  she  had  accidentally  made  while  doing  some  little  act  of  kindness  after 
my  sister's  death.  She  said  she  well  remembered  how  pained  she  was  to 
think  she  should  have,  unintentionally,  marred  the  features  of  her  dead 
daughter,  and  that  unknown  to  all,  how  she  had  carefully  obliterated  all 
traces  of  the  slight  scratch  with  the  aid  of  powder,  &c.,  and  that  she  had 
never  mentioned  it  to  a  human  being,  from  that  day  to  this.  In  proof,  neither 
my  father  nor  any  of  our  family  had  detected  it,  and  positively  were  unaware 
of  the  incident,  yet  I  saw  the  scratch  as  bright  as  if  just  made.  So  strangely 
impressed  was  my  mother  that  even  after  she  had  retired  to  rest,  she  got  up 
and  dressed,  came  to  me  and  told  me  she  hiexo  at  least  that  I  had  seen  my 
sister.  A  few  weeks  later  my  mother  died,  happy  in  her  belief  she  would 
rejoin  her  favourite  daughter  in  a  better  world. 

In  a  further  letter  Mr.  F.  G.  adds  : — 

There  was  nothing  of  a  spiritual  or  ghostly  nature  in  either  the  form  or 

-dress  of  my  sister,  she  appearing  perfectly  natural,  and  dressed  in  clothing 

that  she  usually  wore  in  lifef  and  which  was  familiar  to  me.    From  her  position 

At  the  table,  I  could  only  see  her  from  the  acaist  up,  wfc&  \vst  fc^*&ra&R& 


s 

1889.]  More  than  a  Year  after  Death.  11 

■  *  ■ 

and  everything  she  wore  is  indelibly  photographed  in  my  mind.  I  even  hac 
time  to  notice  the  collar  and  little  breastpin  she  wore,  as  well  as  the  comb  ii 
her  hair,  after  the  style  then  worn  by  young  ladies.  The  dress  had  n< 
particular  association  forme  or  my  mother,  no  more  so  than  others  she  was  ii 
the  habit  of  wearing  ;  but  to-day,  while  I  have  forgotten  all  her  other  dresses 
pins,  and  combs,  I  could  go  to  her  trunk  (which  we  have  just  as  she  left  it 
and  pick  out  the  very  dress  and  ornaments  she  wore  when  she  appeared  tx 
me,  so  well  do  I  remember  it. 

You  are  correct  in  understanding  that  I  returned  home  earlier  than  I  hac 
intended,  as  it  had  such  an  effect  on  me  that  I  could  hardly  think  of  an} 
other  matter  ;  in  fact,  -1  abandoned  a  trip  that  I  had  barely  commenced,  and 
ordinarily,  would  have  remained  on  the  road  a  month  longer. 

Mr.  F.  X>.  again  writes  to  Mr.  Hodgson,  January  23rd,  1888  : — 

As  per  your  request,  I  enclose  a  letter  from  my  father  which  is  indorsed  b} 

i  my  brother,  confirming  the  statement  I  made  to  them  of  the  apparition  I  hac 

seen.     I  will  add  that  my  father  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  respectec 

citizens  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  a  retired  merchant,  whose  winter  residence  is  ai 

(  ,    His.,  a  few  miles   out  by   rail.     He  is   now  70  years   of  age,  but  t 

i  remarkably  well-preserved  gentleman  in  body  and  mind,  and  a  very  learnec 

i  man,  as  well.     As  I  informed  you,  he  is  slow  to  believe  things  that  reasoi 

I  cannot  explain.  My  brother,  who  indorses  the  statement,  has  resided  ii 
Boston  for  12  years,  doing  business  on street,  as  per  letter-head  above 

and  the  last  man  in  the  world  to  take  stock  in  statements  without  good  proof 
The  others  who  were  present  (including  my  mother)  are  now  dead,  or  wer< 
then  so  young  as  to  now  have  but  a  dim  remembrance  of  the  matter. 

You  will  note  that  my  father  refers  to  the  "  scratch,"  and  it  was  this  tha 
puzzled  all,  even  himself,  and  which  we  have  never  been  able  to  account  for 
further  than  that  in  some  mysterious  way  I  had  actually  seen  my  sister  nin* 
years  after  death,  and  had  particularly  noticed  and  described  to  my  parent) 
and  family  this  bright  red  scratch,  and  which,  beyond  all  doubt  in  our  minds 
was  unknown  to  a  soul  save  my  mother,  who  had  accidentally  caused  it. 

When  I  made  my  statement,  all,  of  course,  listened  and  were  interested 
but  the  matter  would  probably  have  passed  with  comments  that  it  was  a  f real 
of  memory,  had  not  I  asked  about  the  scratch,  and  the  instant  I  mentioned  it 
my  mother  was  aroused  as  if  she  had  received  an  electric  shock,  as  she  ha< 
kept  it  secret  from  all,  and  she  alone  was  able  to  explain  it.  My  mother  wa 
a  sincere  Christian  lady,  who  was  for  25  years  superintendent  of  a  larg< 
infant  class  in  her  church,  the  Southern  Methodist,  and  a  directress  in  man^ 
charitable  institutions,  and  was  highly  educated.  No  lady  at  the  time  stoo< 
higher  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  and  she  was,  besides,  a  woman  of  rare  gooc 
sense. 

I  mention  these  points  to  give  you  an  insight  into  the  character  anc 
standing  of  those  whose  testimony,  in  such  a  case,  is  necessary. 

(Signed)  F.  G. 

From  Mr.  H.  G. 

,  Ills.,  January  20th,  1888. 

Dear  F., — Yours  of  16th  inst.  is  received.  In  reply  to  your  question) 
relating  to  your  having  seen  our  Annie,  while  at  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  W\W.fc\ai 


r 


'  20  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  8, 

that  I  well  remember  the  statement  you  made  to  family  on  your  return  home. 
I  remember  your  stating  how  she  looked  in  ordinary  home  dress,  and 
particularly  about  the  scratch  (or  red  spot)  on  her  face,  which  you  could  nofc 
account  for,  but  which  was  fully  explained  by  your  mother.  The  spot  was 
made  while  adjusting  something  about  her  head  while  in  the  casket,  and 
covered  with  powder.  All  who  heard  you  relate  the  phenomenal  sight 
thought  it  was  true.  You  well  know  how  sceptical  I  am  about  things  which 
reason  cannot  explain.  Affectionately, 

(Signed)  H.  G.  (father). 

I  was  present  at  the  time  and  indorse  the  above. 

(Signed)  K.  G.  (brother). 

The  apparent  redness  of  the  scratch  on  the  face  of  the  apparition 
goes  naturally  enough  with  the  look  of  life  in  the  face.  The  phantom 
did  not  appear  as  a  corpse,  but  as  a  blooming  girl,  and  the  scratch 
showed  as  it  would  have  shown  if  made  during  life. 

This  symbol,  in  its  essential  point, — the  manifestation  in  a  phantom 
of  a  change  in  personal  appearance  which  the  percipient  had  no  oppor- 
tunity of  observing  during  life, — may  be  compared  with  the  "Newgate 
fringe "  grown  before  death  by  Lieutenant  B.  (Proceedings,  Vol.  V., 
p.  470),  and  observed  by  General  Barter  in  Lieutenant  B.'s  phantom. 
But  it  can  seldom  happen  that  the  aspect  of  a  near  relation  can  furnish 
an  evidential  indication  so  distinct  as  this.  Even  assuming  an 
intelligent  purpose  in  the  phantom,  one  does  not  see  what  could  in 
most  cases  be  represented  beyond  a  mere  likeness  of  the  deceased ;  and 
a  mere  likeness  of  a  known  face  must  always  be  liable  to  be  taken  for 
a  purely  subjective  hallucination.  The  death  of  the  motJier  in  this 
case,  a  few  weeks  after  the  apparition,  is  noteworthy.  If  the  apparition 
had  been  delayed  there  would  have  been  no  one  left  on  earth  who  was 
capable  of  interpreting  its  symbolism.  We  may  therefore  class  this  as 
a  case  in  which  it  is  possible, — though  not,  of  course,  provable, — that 
the  decedent  was  aware  of  the  approaching  death  of  a  survivor.  If 
the  incident  is  correctly  recorded,  or  if  it  is  not  a  mere  extraordinary 
coincidence,  it  certainly  seems  probable  that  recognition  was  intelli- 
gently aimed  at. 

In  the  next  case  the  ghost  is  seen  by  several  persons,  and  it  moves 
into  a  room  where  the  decedents  sister  is  lying  on  her  death-bed. 
There  is,  therefore,  an  indication  of  knowledge  of  earthly  events, — but 
not  of  an  earlier  or  fuller  knowledge  than  survivors  themselves  possess. 

II. — From  Miss  Pearson,  15,  Fitzroy-square,  W.C. 

April,  1888. 

The  house,  19,  St.  James's-place,  Green  Park,  had  been  taken  on  a  very 
long  lease  by  my  grandfather,  a  solicitor,  in  large  county  practice,  having  his 
offices  in  Essex-street,  Strand. 

There  my  father  was  born  and  his  two  sisters,  Ann  and  Harriet.     Aunt 
Ann  died  in  1868,  leaving  all  she  possessed  to  AuntHBm^^WTeiMCYsv^Ycv 


1889.]  More  than  a  Year  after  Death.  21 

the  house.  They  had  been  devotedly  attached  to  each  other.  In  November, 
1864,  I  was  summoned  to  Brighton.  My  Aunt  Harriet  was  then  very  ill 
there.  Mrs.  Coppinger,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas  Pearson,  my  father's 
brother,  was  there,  and  her  son,  Mr.  George  James,  by  her  first  husband, 
came  up  and  down.  Eliza  Quinton  was  nursing  her.  She  only  craved  to 
go  back  to  the  old  house  where  she  was  born,  and  I  made  arrangements  with 
the  railway  company  and  took  her  home. 

This  was  in  the  second  week  in  December.  She  became  worse  and 
worse.  Eliza  continued  to  nurse  her,  and  Mrs.  Coppinger,  Mrs.  John 
Pearson,  the  wife  of  a  nephew,  and  myself  helped  with  the  night  work. 

Miss  Harriet  Pearson  slept  in  a  large  three-windowed  bedroom  over  the 
drawing-room.  The  room  behind  was  occupied  by  Mrs.  Coppinger  and 
myself,  though  one  of  us  was  generally  in  the  patient's  room  at  night.  On 
the  night  of  December  22nd,  1864,  Mrs.  John  Pearson  was  in  the  room, 
Mrs.  Coppinger  and  myself  in  the  back  room  ;  the  house  lighted  up  on 
the  landings  and  staircases,  our  door  wide  open. 

About  1  or  2  a.m.  on  the  morning  of  December  23rd,  both  Mrs. 
Coppinger  and  myself  started  up  in  bed  ;  we  were  neither  of  us  sleeping,  as 
we  were  watching  every  sound  from  the  next  room. 

We  saw  some  one  pass  the  door,  short,  wrapped  up  in  an  old  shawl,  a 
wig  with  three  curls  each  side  and  an  old  black  cap.  Mrs,  Coppinger  called 
out,  "Emma,  get  up,  it  is  old  Aunt  Ann."  I  said,  "So  it  is,  then  Aunt 
Harriet  will  die  to-day."  We  jumped  up,  and  Mrs.  John  Pearson  came 
rushing  out  of  the  room  and  said,  "  That  was  old  Aunt  Ann.  Where  is  she 
gone  to  ?  "  I  said  to  soothe  her,  "  Perhaps  it  was  Eliza  come  down  to  see  how 
her  mistress  is."  Mrs.  Coppinger  ran  upstairs  and  found  Eliza  sleeping 
in  the  servants'  room.  She  was  very  awestruck  but  calm,  dressed  and 
came  down.  Every  room  was  searched,  no  one  was  there,  and  from  that 
day  to  this  no  explanation  has  ever  been  given  of  this  appearance,  except 
that  it  was  old  Aunt  Ann  come  to  call  her  sister,  and  she  died  at  6  p.m. 
that  day.  Emma  M.  Pearson. 

The  housekeeper,  who  is  still  with  Miss  Pearson,  writes  as  follows : — 
I  was  living  with  Miss  Ann  and  Miss  Harriet  Pearson,  in  19,  St.  James's- 
place.  After  the  death  of  Miss  Ann  I  remained  with  her  sister,  and  when 
she  became  very  ill  and  was  ordered  change  of  air,  I  went  with  her 
as  nurse  to  Brighton.  Mrs.  Coppinger  was  there  and  Mr.  George  James 
now  and  then.  Miss  Emma  Pearson  was  sent  for  and  came  down.  She 
brought  her  aunt  back  to  London.  I  continued  to  nurse  her.  I  remember 
on  the  early  morning  of  December  23rd  being  called  up  by  Mrs.  Coppinger, 
who  said  that  she,  Miss  Emma,  and  Mrs.  John  Pearson  had  seen  someone 
come  upstairs  and  pass  into  the  patient's  room.  Was  it  I  ?  I  said  no.  Mrs. 
Coppinger  said,  "They  said  it  was  old  Aunt  Ann."  We  searched  the  house 
and  could  find  no  one.  Miss  Harriet  died  in  the  evening  of  that  day,  but 
before  that  told  all  of  us  that  she  had  seen  her  sister  and  knew  it  was 
her,  and  she  had  come  to  call  her.  Eliza  Quinton. 

April  3rd,  1888. 

In  a  separate  letter  of  the  same  date  Miss  Pearson  adds : — 
"  I  now  remember  my  aunt  saying  *  her  sister  had  come  for.  \vet,  icrc  \&v» 
had  Been  her. ' " 


22  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  8, 

The  next  case  which  I  shall  cite  is  more  remote,  and  depends  on  a 
single  memory.  The  relation  of  time  between  the  apparition  and  the 
death  is  also  uncertain.  The  phantom's  brother  was  undergoing  at  the 
time  his  last  illness  ;  but  that  illness  was  a  long  one. 

III. — From  Madame  de  Gilibert,  The  Paddocks,  Hayward's  Heath. 

The  Hon.  Auberon  Herbert  and  other  members  of  the  family  have 
kindly  looked  through  the  dates,  &c,  in  this  narrative,  which,  so  far  as 
given  by  Madame  Gilibert,  were  correct. 

Sir  Robert  Herbert,  K.C.M.G.,  writes  : — 

4  *  It  is  an  unusually  well  authenticated  story,  as  far  as  the  honesty  of  the 
reporter  goes."  Mr.  Robert  Marsham  remarks  that  "the  fact  that  the 
superior  servant  Garland  seemed  vexed  at  first  when  the  little  Charlotte 
King  described  what  she  had  seen,  would  rather  seem  to  imply  that  the 
ghost  had  been  known  to  appear  before." 

Lady  Carnarvon  died  February  10th,  1826. 

The  Earl  of  Egremont  died  November  11th,  1837. 

Jwxe>  1883. 

In  my  early  days  I  lived  in  a  large  house,  belonging  to  my  grandfather 
[the  Earl  of  Egremont],  at  Petworth,  from  which  we  removed  on  his  death 
(1837)  ;  from  this  date  I  conclude  that  I  could  not  have  been  younger  than 
11  or  older  than  12  when  the  following  occurrence  took  place,  between  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1836  and  the  winter  of  1837. 

I  must  describe  that  part  of  the  house  which  we,  the  family,  occupied  on 
the  ground  floor.  My  grandfather's  room  was  on  the  south  side  of  a  long 
passage,  which  communicated  with  the  more  public  parts  of  the  house. 
Opposite  his  door,  on  the  north  side  of  the  passage,  was  a  swinging,  red 
baize  door,  which  led  to  a  narrow  corridor,  having  on  one  side  two  doors, 
one  my  mother's  bedroom,  and  the  other  the  door  of  my  father's  dressing- 
room  ;  on  the  other  side  was  a  small  staircase,  leading  to  two  rooms  occupied 
by  Garland,  a  superior  servant,  who  took  care  of  my  grandfather,  who  was 
very  old.  All  the  grandchildren  were  very  fond  of  Garland,  who  spoilt  us 
all.  One  afternoon  I  had  gone  up  to  her  rooms,  and  not  finding  her,  as  she 
had  not  returned  from  the  steward's  room  from  dinner,  I  turned  to  go 
downstairs.  I  generally  "slid"  down  those  stairs  in  a  way  peculiar  to 
myself.  Balancing  myself  on  my  chest,  and  straightening  myself  into  a 
nearly  horizontal  position,  I  used  to  let  myself  go  down  the  incline  with  an 
impetus.  I  was  in  this  position,  just  about  to  launch  myself,  when  I  was 
aware  of  a  figure,  which  came  from  the  baize  door,  and  which  astonished  mo 
and  made  me  pause.  It  was  a  female  figure,  in  soft,  clinging  drapery, 
greyish  whitish, — some  sort  of  shawl  or  kerchief  crossed  over  the  bosom; 
the  features,  well-cut,  delicate,  and  of  an  aquiline  type  ;  but  what  struck  me 
most  was  the  head-dress  or  coif,  which  had  lace  lappets  or  strings  which, 
passing  under  the  chin,  were  tied  in  a  bow  on  the  top  of  the  head.  I  was, 
as  I  said,  astonished,  but  not  frightened.  So  many  people  did  go  about  the 
house  that  it  never  occurred  to  me  to  be  anything  supernatural.  But  when 
the  figure  glided  past  the  two  doors  I  have  mentioned,  a  sort  of  revulsion 
took  place  in  me.     I  let  myself  slide  down  the  balustrade  and  rushed  to  stop 


1889.]  More  than  a  Tear  after  Death.  23 

her  and  tell  her  that  there  was  no  "  way  out."  (There  was  a  disused  door, 
but  it  had  been  long  blocked  up.)  I  could  not  have  been  five  seconds 
behind  the  figure,  but  when  I  reached  the  blocked  door,  there  was  nothing. 

I  knew  no  one  could  pass,  but  I  ran  round  to  the  children's  nurseries, 
with  which  that  door  had  communicated,  and  began  asking  the  nurses 
whether  they  had  seen  "an  old  woman  in  a  white  dressing-gown  and  grey 
shawl  and  lace  ribbons  under  her  chin  tied  on  the  top  of  her  head,"  adding, 
"and  she  had  a  nose  like  Mrs.  Pullen  "  (the  head  laundress,  who  was  a  sort 
of  female  Duke  of  Wellington).  I  only  got  laughed  at  and  snubbed  by  the 
nurses,  but  when  Garland  came  in  and  I  told  her,  she  seemed  vexed  at  first, 
and  ended  by  scolding  me,  so  I  was  "  shut  up  "  ;  but  nevertheless  I  knew 
that  I  could  not  account  for  it,  and  every  detail  of  dress,  feature,  and  gait  is 
as  vivid  now  as  it  was  at  the  time. 

Many  years  afterwards  I  was  in  Paris  after  my  marriage,  and  I  used  to 
see  a  cousin  of  my  mother's,  who  had  married  abroad,  and  I  told  her  once 
what  I  have  above  narrated.  Madame  de  Valmer  at  once  said  to  me,  "My 
dear,  you  have  described  your  great  aunt  to  the  minutest  item  of  her  dress 
and  appearance."  (Madame  de  Valmer  had  been  brought  up  by  Lady 
Carnarvon,  her  aunt.)  "And,"  continued  Madame  de  Valmer,  "  she  came, 
you  say,  from  the  swing  door  which  led  to  your  grandfather's  room.  She 
came  to  fetch  her  brother.  He  died  very  soon  after."  Of  course,  I  do  not 
believe  this  explanation  of  the  mysterious  figure  ;  still,  the  nurseries  with 
which  the  disused  door  communicated  had  been  Lady  Carnarvon's  apart- 
ments, and  she  had  died  there. 

C.    DE   GlLIBERT. 

In  answer  to  inquiries,  Madame  de  Gilibert  says  : — 

The  only  two  portraits  of  Lady  Carnarvon  at  Petworth  represent  her 
very  young.  In  one  she  is  with  my  grandfather,  and  is  quite  a  child.  In 
the  other — a  Gainsborough  looking  head — she  is  quite  a  young  woman,  her 
brown  hair  tied  with  a  ribbon,  nothing  at  all  resembling  the  muffling  head- 
dress I  saw.  C.  de  Gilibert. 

[I  have  had  an  interview  with  Madame  de  Gilibert,  who  seems  a  very 
intelligent  and  clear-headed  person.  She  gave  me  precisely  the  same  account 
viva  voce. — E.G.] 

Madame  de  Gilibert  has  had  no  other  hallucinations. 

"  1  have  never  even,  as  far  as  I  can  remember,  dreamt  a  dream." 

In  each  of  these  cases  there  has  been  some  evidential  point  to 
distinguish  the  apparition  from  a  merely  subjective  hallucination.  In 
the  first  there'  was  the  unknown  alteration  in  the  familiar  face ;  in  the 
second  there  were  more  percipients  than  one ;  in  the  third  the  figure  was 
unknown  to  the  percipient,  but  seemingly  recognised  by  others  from  her 
account.  We  possess  a  few  other  cases  resembling  these  except  for  the 
absence  of  precisely  this  evidential  quality.  That  is  to  say,  they  are 
apparitions  of  a  deceased  friend,  coinciding  with  the  beginning  of  a 
survivor's  fatal  illness,  or  symbolising  in  some  way  his  approaching 
death.  This  amount  of  coincidence  may,  of  course,  Ywi  \\\^o\^ 
impressive  to  the  percipient,  if  he  has  never  before  expeviexice^.  axv^ 


24  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  % 

hallucination.  But  we  cannot  claim  such  cases  as  evidential ;  since  ft 
is  possible  that  the  hallucination  may  have  been  determined  by  the 
oncoming  illness;  or,  although  occurring  during  health,  it  may,  by 
alarming  the  percipient,  have  helped  to  fulfil  its  own  prognostication.1 

This  would  have  been,  perhaps,  the  fittest  place  for  a  case  which 
was  printed  in  the  last  article  (Proceedings,  Vol.  V.,  p.  422),  where 
Mrs.  Bacchus  sees  the  phantom  of  a  man  recognised  from  her  descrip- 
tion as  the  deceased  husband  of  a  lady  whose  corpse  was  then  lying  in 
the  house  where  the  ghost  appeared.  If  we  accept  that  recognition  as 
valid,  we  must  suppose  that  the  phantom  was  in  some  way  induced  by 
the  death  of  the  wife. 

And  to  this  category,  in  fact,  belong  the  rather  numerous  cases  (see 
Proceedings,  Vol.  V.,  p.  459,  note)  where  a  dying  person  sees  the  forms  of 
friends  already  dead.  Dying  men  may,  for  aught  we  know,  be  specially 
liable  to  subjective  disturbances  of  perception ;  and  we  cannot,  therefore, 
take  account  of  cases  where  the  dying  man,  and  he  alone,  sees  figures  of 
friends  whom  he  knows  to  be  dead.  But  in  a  few  cases  a  dying  man  is 
reported  to  have  seen,  mixed  with  figures  of  those  whom  he  knows  to  be 
dead,  the  figure  of  someone  of  whose  decease  he  has  not  yet  heard.  As 
regards  the  dying  man,  we  may  call  such  a  vision  a  kind  of  clairvoyance 
in  extremis.  But  the  apparition  seen — if  more  than  a  mere'  fancy — 
must  be  classed  as  a  phantom  which  indicates  knowledge  of  what  is 
passing  on  earth,  and  is  in  some  way  conditioned  by  the  death  of  the 
surviving  friend.  Such  death-bed  visions  are  by  their  very  nature  not 
likely  to  be  shared  by  more  than  one  person.  We  have  only  one  case, 
and  that  at  second-hand,  where  a  watcher  beside  the  dying  "bed  sees 
distinctly  the  same  figures  which  the  dying  person  sees.  But  death-bed 
experiences  have  very  rarely  been  observed  with  the  right  kind  of  care, 
and  we  may  hope  for  a  good  deal  more  information  when  the  scientific 
interest  of  these  visions,  as  from  "a  peak  in  Darien"  (to  use  Miss 
Cobbe's  simile),  is  more  generally  understood. 

But  apart  from  knowledge  as  to  the  death  of  survivors,  is  any 
knowledge  of  other  earthly  matters  ever  displayed  by  a  ghost  ?  There 
are  many  stories  of  dangers  averted  by  ghostly  intervention  ;  are  we  to 
assume  that  the  departed  watch  over  us,  and  guard  our  earthly  days  t 
The  following  case  is  a  striking  specimen  of  this  class*,  the  phantom 
having  been  seen  by  two  persons.  The  brevity  of  the  rebuke,  conveyed 
merely  by  a  name  twice  repeated,  is  a  point  in  favour  of  the  narrative ; 
for  long  speeches  put  into  the  mouths  of  ghosts  are  pretty  sure  to  be 

1  In  the  Journal  S.P.R.  for  December,  1888,  p.  359,  will  be  found  an  account  of  an 

apparent  prediction  to  a  moribund  person  of  the  date  of  his  death  by  his  deceased 

father's  figure,  seen  in  a  dream.     This  case,  which,  taken  alone,  would  have  no 

e%identi&l  valuet  is  rendered  interesting  by  the  other  experience*,  ol  tVe«ui&&taa»L9% 

which  iril/  be  found  in  the  Journal,  loc.  cU. 


1889.]  More  than  a  Year  after  Death.  25 

apocryphal.  It  is  noteworthy  that  one  of  the  percipients  in  this  case 
had  already  experienced  a  "  vision  of  consolation  "  under  circumstances 
of  strong  emotion.  Taken  by  itself,  that  consolatory  vision  might 
certainly  have  been  classed  as  purely  subjective.  But  the  fact  that 
the  only  other  hallucination  which  this  percipient  experienced  was  (as 
I  should  myself  hold)  a  veridical  one,  may  inspire  some  doubt  as  to 
whether  that  earlier  vision  also  may  not  have  had  some  veridical  basis. 

IV. — From  a  lady  who  desires  that  names  may  not  be  published. 

#  Jwie  9th,  1885. 

Our  mother  died  while  we  were  all  very  young  ;  and  as  I,  the  fourth 
child  of  seven,  was  the  eldest  living  daughter,  I  became  early  acquainted 
(from  my  eighth  year)  with  sorrow  of  various  kinds  and  degrees,  principally 
caused,  however,  by  the  harshness  and  frequent  neglect  of  housekeeper  and 
servants  towards  my  baby  brother  and  sister.  The  two  eldest  boys — between 
whom  and  myself  was  a  gap  of  some  years — were  almost  always  away  from 
home,  and  ultimately  went  abroad,  so  that  from  the  time  I  was  quite  a 
little  child  I  was  continually  with  my  father,  who  made  much  of 'me,  and  at 
last  I  became  his  constant  companion.  He  never  married  again,  and  our 
love  was  probably,  therefore,  a  closer  union  even  than  commonly  exists 
between  a  father  and  daughter  while  the  latter  is  of  tender  years.  It  was  a 
great  pain  to  me  ever  to  be  away  from  him,  especially  after  my  14th 
year,  at  which  time  he  began  to  make  me  his  confidante  as  well  as  companion  ; 
and  we  had  frequent  earnest  talks  and  discussions  on  many  subjects.  At 
length,  when  I  was  about  18  years  old,  a  terrible  grief  befell  us,  viz., 
the  death  of  my  two  elder  brothers  within  a  few  weeks  of  each  other,  while 
they  were  still  abroad. 

My  father's  sorrow  was  great  ;  and  at  the  same  time  he  became  seriously 
troubled  with  many  doubts  regarding  various  points  of  Christian  faith,  and 
so  gradually  lost  nearly  all  his  buoyancy  of  spirit,  and  became  sadly  depressed 
and  worn-looking,  though  only  48  years  old.  For  a  year  he  thus  suffered, 
when  it  was  arranged  that,  so  soon  as  he  could  plan  to  leave  home,  he  should 
go  to  some  seaside  place,  and  try  what  new  scenes  would  effect.  He  also 
persuaded — nay,  insisted — that  I  should  go  away  for  awhile,  without  waiting 
for  him,  and  accompany  some  friends  to  South  Devonshire. 

The  writer  then  narrates  how  a  sudden  summons  brought  her  back 
to  find  her  father  dead. 

I  went  early  to  bed,  to  escape  the  presence  and  sympathetic  ministrations 
of  the  many  in  that  kind  household  who  gathered  around  me  ;  and  by  my 
own  choice  I  shared  the  room  of  a  motherly-looking  personage,  whom  I 
supposed  to  be  my  cousin's  nurse.  She  occupied  the  larger  bed  in  the  room, 
and  I  a  smaller  one  placed  at  some  distance  from  hers.  She  was  soon  asleep 
and  breathing  heavily  ;  but  I  was  lying  in  deepest  anguish,  beset  not  only 
with  the  grief  of  the  sudden  loss  sustained,  but  with  the  wretched  fear  that 
my  beloved  father  had  died  too  suddenly  to  find  peace  with  God,  regarding 
those  miserable  'doubts  that  had  so  troubled  him.  As  the  night  wore  on, 
the  pain  of  heart  and  thought  grew  worse  and  worse,  and  at  \en$\v  \  Vxv^ 
in  prayer,  earnestly  pleading  that  my  distressful  thoughts  m\fcY\t  Y>e  Xa&few 


26  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occuvrvng  [July  8, 

away,  and  an  assurance  of  my  father's  peace  be  given  me  by  God's  Most 
Holy  Spirit.  No  immediate  relief  came,  however,  and  it  was  early  dawn 
when  I  rose  from  my  knees,  and  felt  that  I  must  be  patient  and  wait  for  the 
answer  of  my  prayer. 

Now  a  longing  suddenly  seized  me  to  creep  into  that  kind-faced  woman's 
bed,  and  to  feel  perhaps  less  lonely  there.  Her  bed  was  opposite  a 
window,  over  which  a  white  blind  was  drawn,  and  as  I  softly  lifted  the  bed- 
clothes and  sat  for  a  moment  after  drawing  my  feet  up  into  the  bed,  I 
noticed  the  pale  dawn  feebly  lighting  up  the  window,  and  the  movement  of 
a  little  bird  on  the  sill  outside  ;  but  the  room  itself  was  as  yet  almost  dark. 

I  was  just  about  to  slip  quietly  down  into  the  bed,  when  on  the  opposite 
side  of  it  (that  on  which  the  nurse  was  sleeping)  the  room  became  suddenly 
full  of  beautiful  light,  in  the  midst  of  which  stood  my  father  absolutely  trans- 
figured, clothed  with  brightness.  He  slowly  moved  towards  the  bed,  raising 
his  hands,  as  I  thought,  to  clasp  me  in  his  arms  ;  and  I  ejaculated  :  "Father ! " 
He  replied,  "  Blessed  for  ever,  my  child  !  For  ever  blessed  !  "  I  moved  to 
climb  over  nurse  and  kiss  him,  reaching  out  my  arms  to  him  ;  but  with  a 
look  of  mingled  sadness  and  love  he  appeared  to  float  back  with  the  light 
towards  the  wall  and  was  gone  !  The  vision  occupied  so  short  a  time  that, 
glancing  involuntarily  at  the  window  again,  I  saw  the  morning  dawn  and  the 
little  bird  just  as  they  had  looked  a  few  minutes  before.  I  felt  sure  that  God 
had  vouchsafed  to  me  a  wonderful  vision,  and  was  not  in  the  least  afraid, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  full  of  a  joy  that  brought  floods  of  grateful  tears,  and 
completely  removed  all  anguish  except  that  of  having  lost  my  father  from 
earth.  I  offer  no  explanation,  and  can  only  say  most  simply  and  truthfully 
that  it  all  happened  just  as  I  have  related. 

You  may  find  a  solution  to  the  occurrence  in  the  sympathy  which  had 
existed  between  my  dear  father  and  myself  ;  or,  as  friends  have  often 
insisted,  in  the  condition  of  excitement  and  exhaustion  which  I  was  suffer- 
ing at  the  time  ;  but  after  all  these  years  of  life  and  experience,  the  memory 
of  that  wonderful  morning  is  ever  vividly  fresh,  and  real,  and  true. 

The  writers  husband  adds,  under  date  June  17th,  1885  : — 

The  narrative,  as  related  above,  is  substantially  the  same  given  to  me  by 
Mrs.  P.  as  early  as  1865,  and  at  subsequent  periods. 

W.  B.  P. 

And  Dr.  and  Mrs.  C,  referred  to  above,  write,  June  16th,  1885  : — 

The  preceding  narrative  was  related  to  us  by  Mrs.  P.,  substantially  as 
here  recorded,  some  four  or  five  years  ago. 

James  C.     Ellen  H.  C. 

[Now  comes  the  case  which  has  evidential  importance.] 

In    the  year   1867  I  was   married,  and  my   husband  took  a  house    at 

S ,  quite  a  new    one,  just  built  in  what  was,  and  still  is  probably, 

called  "  Cliff  Town,"  as  being  at  a  greater  elevation  than  the  older  part  of 
the  town.     Our  life  was  exceedingly  bright  and  happy  there  until  towards 
the  end  of  1869,  when  my  husband's  health  appeared  to  be  failing,  and  he 
grew  dejected  and  moody.     Trying  in  vain  to  ascertain  the  cause  for  this,  ■ 
and  being  repeatedly  assured  by  him  that  I  was  "too  fanciful,"  and  that 


1889.] 


More  than  a  Year  after  Death. 


27 


there  was  "nothing  the  matter  with  him,"  I  ceased  to  vex  him  with 
questions,  and  the  time  passed  quietly  away  till  Christmas  Eve  of  that 
year  (1869). 

An  uncle  and  aunt  lived  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  they  invited  us  to 
spend  Christmas  Day  with  them — to  go  quite  early  in  the  morning  to 
breakfast,  accompanied  by  the  whole  of  our  small  household. 

We  arranged  therefore  to  go  to  bed  at  an  early  hour  on  the  night  of  the 
24th,  so  as  to  be  up  betimes  for  our  morning  walk.  Consequently,  at  9 
o'clock,  we  went  upstairs,  having  as  usual  carefully  attended  to  bars  and 
bolts  of  doors,  and  at  about  9.30  were  ready  to  extinguish  the  lamp  ;  but  our 
little  girl — a  baby  of  15  months — generally  woke  up  at  that  time,  and  after 
drinking  some  warm  milk  would  sleep  again  for  the  rest  of  the  night ;  and, 
as  she  had  not  yet  awakened,  I  begged  my  husband  to  leave  the  lamp  burning 
and  get  into  bed,  while  I,  wrapped  in  a  dressing-gown,  lay  on  the  outside  of 
the  bed  with  the  cot  on  my  right  hand.  The  bedstead  faced  the  fireplace,  and 
nothing  stood  between  but  a  settee  at  the  foot-  of  the  bed.  On  either 
side  of  the  chimney  was  a  large  recess, — the  one  to  the  left  (as  we  faced  in 
that  direction)  having  a  chest  of  drawers,  on  which  the  lamp  was  standing. 
The  entrance  door  was  on  the  same  side  of  the  room  as  the  head  of  the  bed 
and  to  the  left  of  it— facing,  therefore,  the  recess  of  which  I  speak.  The  door 
was  locked  ;  and  on  that  same  side  (to  my  loft)  my  husband  was  lying,  with 
the  curtain  drawn,  towards  which  his  face  was  turned. 

Roughly,  the  jKraition  was  thus — 


Door 

Furniture 

c 

O 

J 

Bed 

Settee 

i 

Cot 

Bay  Window 

1 

1 

Drawers  and 
Lamp 


Chimney 


Arm-chair 
Furniture 


As  the  bed  had  curtains  only  at  the  head,  all  before  us  was  open  and 
dimly-lighted,  the  lamp  being  turned  down. 

This  takes  some  time  to  describe,  but  it  was  still  just  about  9.30, 
Gertrude  not  yet  awake,  and  I  just  pulling  myself  into  a  half -sitting  posture 
against  the  pillows,  thinking  of  nothing  but  the  arrangements  for  the  follow- 
ing day,  when  to  my  great  astonishment  I  saw  a  gentleman  standing  at  the 
foot  of  the  bed,  dressed  as  a  naval  officer,  and  with  a  cap  on  his  head  having  a 
projecting  peak.  The  light  being  in  the  position  which  I  have  indicated,  the 
face  was  in  shadow  to  me,  and  the  more  so  that  the  visitor  was  leaning  u\)ow 
his  arms  which  Tested  on  the  foot-rail  of  the  bedstead.    I  was  too  aatoiuftWi 


28  On  Recognised  Ajyparitions  occurring  [July 

to  be  afraid,  but  simply  wondered  who  it  could  be  ;  and,  instantly 
my  husband's  shoulder  (whose  face  was  turned  from  me),  I  said, 
who  is  this  ? "    My  husband  turned,  and  for  a  second  or  two  lay  looking 
intense    astonishment  at  the  intruder ;    then  lifting  himself  a  little, 
shouted  "  What  on  earth  are  you  doing  here,  sir  ?  "    Meanwhile  the 
slowly  drawing  himself  into  an  upright  position,  now  said  in  a  coi 
yet  reproachful  voice,  "  Willie  !  Willie  !  " 

I  looked  at  my  husband  and  saw  that  his  face  was  white  and  agitated.  I&\ 
I  turned  towards  him  he  sprang  out  of  bed  as  though  to  attack  the  man, 
stood  by  the  bedside  as  if  afraid,  or  in  great  perplexity, while  the  figure  caln^ 
and  slowly  moved  tmoards  the  wall  at  right- angles  with  the  lamp  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  dotted  line.     As  it  passed  the  lamp,  a  deep  shadow  fell  upon  th* 
room  as  of  a  material  person  shutting  out  the  light  from  us  by  his  intervening  - 
body,  and  he  disappeared,  as  it  were,  into  the  wall.     My  husband  now,  int 
very  agitated  manner,  caught  up  the  lamp,  and  turning  to  me  said,  "  I  men 
to  look  all  over  the  house,  and  see  where  he  is  gone. "  - 

I  was  by  this  time  exceedingly  agitated  too,  but  remembering  that  tat  - 
door  was  locked,  and  that  the  mysterious  visitor  had  not  gone  towards  ifceV- 
all,  remarked,  "  He  has  not  gone  out  by  the  door !  "    But  without  pausing, 
my  husband  unlocked  th*  door,  hastened  out  of  the  room,  and  was  soon  searce- 
ing  the  whole  house.     Sitting  there  in  the  dark,  I  thought  to  myself,  "We  : 
have  surely  seen  an  apparition !     Whatever  can  it  indicate — perhaps  tsf  ; 
brother  Arthur  (he  was  in  the  navy,  and  at  that  time  on  a  voyage  to  India) '■ 
is  in  trouble  :  such  things  have  been  told  of  as  occurring."    In  some  suck  1 
way  I  pondered  with  an  anxious  heart,  holding  the  child,  who  just  then 
awakened,  in  my  arms,  until  my  husband  came  back  looking  very  white  and 
miserable. 

Sitting  upon  the  bedside,  he  put  his  arm  about  me  and  said,  "Doyoa 
know  what  we  have  seen  ?"  And  I  said,  "  Yes,  it  was  a  spirit.  I  am  afraid 
it  was  Arthur,  but  could  not  see  his  face  " — and  he  exclaimed,  "  Oh  !  no,  ifc 
was  my  father  I  " 

My  husband's  father  had  been  dead  fourteen  years  :  he  had  been  a  naval 
officer  in  his  young  life  ;  but,  through  ill-health,  had  left  the  service  before 
my  husband  was  born,  and  the  latter  had  only  once  or  twice  seen  him  in 
uniform.  I  had  never  seen  him  at  all.  My  husband  and  I  related  the  occur- 
rence to  my  uncle  and  aunt,  and  we  all  noticed  that  my  husband's  agitation 
and  anxiety  were  very"  great :  whereas  his  usual  manner  was  calm  and 
reserved  in  the  extreme,  and  he  was  a  thorough  and  avowed  sceptic  in  all- 
so-called—  supernatural  events. 

As  the  weeks  passed  on  my  husband  became  very  ill,  and  then  gradually 
disclosed  to  me  that  he  had  been  in  great  financial  difficulties  ;  and  that,  at 
the  time  his  father  was  thus  sent  to  us,  he  was  inclining  to  take  the  advice 
of  a  man  who  would  certainly—  had  my  husband  yielded  to  him  (as  he  had 
intended  before  hearing  the  warning  voice) — have  led  him  to  ruin,  perhaps 
worse.  It  is  this  fact  which  makes  us  most  reticent  in  speaking  of  the  event ; 
in  addition  to  which,  my  husband  had  already  been  led  to  speculate  upon 
certain  chances  which  resulted  in  failure,  and  infinite  sorrow  to  us  both  aa 

well  as  to  others,  and  was  indeed  the  cause  oi  out  eoudiv^  to ,  after  a 

fear  of  much  trouble,  in  the  January  of  18*11. 


1889.]  More  than  a  Year  after  Death.  29 

None  of  us  were  particularly  ready  to  believe  in  such  evidences, 
notwithstanding  my  experience  at  my  father's  death,  because  we  had  re- 
garded that  as  a  special  answer  to  prayer ;  so  that  no  condition  of  "  over- 
wrought nerves,"  or  "  superstitious  fears,"  could  have  been  the  cause  of  the 
manifestation,  but  only,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  judge  by  subsequent 
events,  a  direct  warning  to  my  husband  in  the  voice  and  appearance  of  the 
one  that  he  had  most  reverenced  in  all  his  life,  and  was  the  most  likely  to 
obey. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  C,  friends  of  Mrs.  and  Mr.  P.,  add  the  following  note: — 

June  16&,  1885. 
This  narrative  was  told  us  by  Mrs.  P.,  as  here  recorded,  some  years  ago. 

J.  C.     Ellen  H.  C. 

Mr.  P.  confirms  as  follows,  June  17th,  1885  : — 

Without  wishing  to  add  more  to  the  incidents  recorded  herein  by  my 
wife,  I  would  simply  note  that  the  details  of  No.  2  are  quite  correct,  and  that 
the  occurrence  took  place  as  stated.     *    *    *  W.  B.  P. 

I  will  add  one  other  first-hand  narrative,  which  comes  from  a 
respectable  source,  although  the  death  of  all  persons  concerned  in  it 
prevents  corroboration. 

V. — From  Mr.  Happerfield,  Postmaster. 

Road,  Bath,  May  12thy  1884. 
When  my  old   friend  John   Harford,    who   had  been   a   Weslcyan  lay 
preacher  for  half  a  century,  lay  dying,  in  June  of  1851,  he  sent  for  me,  and 
when  I  went  to  his  bedside  he  said,  "  I  am  glad  you  have  come,  friend 
Happerfield  ;  I  cannot  die  easy  until  I  am  assured   that  my  wife  will  be 
looked  after  and  cared  for  until  she  may  be  called  to  join  me  in  the  other 
world.     I  have  known  you  for  many  years,  and  now  want  you  to  promise  to 
look  to  her  well-being  during  the  little  time  which  she  may  remain  after  me." 
I  said,  "  I  will  do  what  I  can,  so  let  your  mind  be  at  rest."   He  said,  "  I  can 
trust  you,"  and  he  soon  after,  on  the  20th  day  of  the  month,  fell  asleep  in 
the  Lord.     I  administered  his  affairs,  and  when  all  was  settled  there  remained 
a  balance  in  favour  of  the  widow,  but  not  sufficient  to  keep  her.     I  put  her 
into  a  small  cottage,  interested  some  friends  in   her  case,    and  saw  that 
she  was  comfortable.     After  a  while  Mrs.  Harford's  grandson  came  and 
proposed  to  take  the  old  lady  to  his  house  in  Gloucestershire,  where  he  held 
a  situation  as  schoolmaster.     The  request  seemed  reasonable.     I  consented, 
providing  she  was  quite  willing  to  go  ;  and  the  young  man  took  her  accord- 
ingly.    Time  passed  on.     We  had  no  correspondence.     I  had  done  my  duty 
to  my  dying  friend,  and  there  the  matter  rested.     But  one  night,  as  I  lay  in 
bed  wakeful,  towards  morning,  turning  over  business  and  other  matters  in 
my  mind,  I  suddenly  became  conscious  that  someone  was  in  the  room.     Then 
the  curtain  of  my  bed  was  drawn  aside,  and  there  stood  my  departed  friend, 
gazing  upon  me  with  a  sorrowful  and  troubled  look.     I  felt  no  fear,  but 
surprise  and  astonishment  kept  me  silent.     He  spoke  to  me,  distinctly  und 
audibly  in  his  own  familiar  voice,  and  said  :  "  Friend  Happerneld,  1  Yrore 


30  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  S, 

come  to  you  because  you  have  not  kept  your  promise  to  see  to  my  wife.  She 
is  in  trouble  and  in  want. "    I  assured  him  that  I  had  done  my  duty,  aai-4 
was  not  aware  that  she  was  in  any  difficulty,  and  that  I  would  see  about  hflhi 
first  thing,  and  have  her  attended  to.     He  looked  satisfied  and  vanished  front 
my  sight.     I  awoke  my  wife,  who  was  asleep  at  my  side,  and  told  her  what 
had  occurred.     Sleep  departed  from  us,  and  on  arising,  the  first  thing  I  did, 
was  to  write  to  the  grandson.     In  reply  he  informed  me  that  he  had  been 
deprived  of  his  situation  through  persecution,  and  was  in  great  straits, '" 
insomuch  that  he  had  decided  on  sending  his  grandmother  to  the  Union. 
Forthwith  I  sent  some  money  and  a  request  to  have  the  old  lady  forwarded^ 
to  me  immediately.     She  came,  and  was  again  provided  with  a  home  and  hid 
her  wants  supplied.     These  are  the  circumstances  as  they  occurred.     I 
not  a  nervous  man  ;  nor  am  I  superstitious.     At  the  time  my  old  friend 
to  me  1  was  wide  awake,  collected,  and  calm.     The  above  is  very  correct,  not 
overdrawn.  C.  Happerftjkld. 

This    last   case,    however,    suggests   a   fresh    difficulty, — namely, 
as   to  the    real    origin   of    the   monitory   voice.      There   is   a  good 
deal  of   evidence,  from   the  Daemon  of   Socrates   downwards,  to  the 
occurrence  of  monitions  or  warnings  which  in  various  ways  inform 
the  percipient  of   some  approaching  danger.      And   sometimes  these  ": 
monitions  are  associated— by  an  impression,  or  by  an  actual  vision—  * 
with  some  deceased  person,  who  is  supposed  to  be  acting  as  a  guardian  *] 
or  protector  to  the  person  thus  admonished.  1 

But  it  is  a  well-known  fact, — pointed  out  by  Elliotson,  and 
repeatedly  noticed  since  his  day, — that  hypnotised  or  somnambulic 
subjects  have  a  tendency  to  develop  a  pseudo-guardian, — to  refer  the 
knowledge  or  sensation  which  comes  from  sub-conscious  strata  of  their 
own  mind  to  some  imaginary  spirit,  whom  they  sometimes  see  beside  » 
them  in  visible  form.  Thus,  in  the  classical  case  of  "  Estelle," — that 
patient  of  the  elder  Despine,  whose  history  is  so  curiously  concordant  ' 
with  the  most  recent  observations, — Estelle  in  her  secondary  condition 
supposed  herself  to  be  directed  by  a  spirit,  "  Ang&ique,"  who  was 
obviously  a  mere  personification  of  her  own  supernormal  knowledge  of 
the  state  of  her  own  organism.  Similarly  in  cases  of  automatic  writing, 
the  message  which  really  comes  from  the  unconscious  self  of  the  writer 
will  sign  itself  by  the  name  of  some  deceased  relative.  It  is  therefore 
possible,  and  even  probable,  that  in  some  of  the  cases  where  warnings 
have  been  conveyed  by  some  phantasmal  figure  simulating  a  dead 
friend,  the  real  source  of  the  warning  has  been  somewhere  in  the 
percipient  himself.  And  thus,  for  instance,  in  the  Happerfield  case, 
just  cited,  the  phantom  may  have  been  the  mere  dramatic  projection, 
either  of  knowledge  telepathically  acquired  by  the  percipient,  or  of  a 
mere  sub-conscious  current  of  anxiety  as  to  the  welfare  of  a  protigte  of 
whom  he  had  heard  no  news  for  some  time. 

While  thus  discussing  the  indications  of  a  knowledge  of  earthly 


L889.]  More  than  a  Tear  after  Death.  31 

Bvents  afforded  by  phantoms,  there  is  one  curious  type  of  cases  which  I 
)ught  to  mention,  although  by  their  very  nature  they  can  hardly  occur 
more  than  a  year  after  death — I  mean  cases  where  some  manifestation 
occurs  just  before  the  news  of  the  death  is  received  by  the  percipient. 
In  a  case  given  in  the  last  paper  (Proceedings,  Vol.  V.,  p.  408),  the 
Rev.  G.  M.  Tandy  saw  Canon  Robinson's  apparition  just  before  he 
apened  a  newspaper — given  to  him  in  its  wrapper  by  a  friend — which 
contained  the  announcement  of  the  Canon's  death.  In  that  case  no 
telepathic  communication  from  living  persons  seems  possible ;  for 
neither  would  the  Canon's  surviving  friends  think  specially  of  Mr. 
Tandy,  nor  could  they  possibly  know  when  the  news  of  the  death  would 
reach  him. 

We  have  received  a  similar  case  from  Mr.  Magnusson,  Assistant 
Librarian  in  the  Cambridge  University  Library,  where  a  strong 
impression  of  the  death  of  a  friend  in  Iceland  came  upon  him — not 
at  the  time  of  the  death,  but  at  the  time  when  the  letter  announcing 
the  death  had  just  reached  England.  As  this  was  only  an  impression, — 
though  a  painfully  strong  one, — and  was  not  recorded  at  the  time,  I  do  not 
quote  the  incident  at  length.  But  a  case  of  Mr.  Cameron  Grant's,  briefly 
mentioned  by  Mr.  Gurney  in  Phantasms  of  tlie  Living  (II.,  p.  690),  seems, 
on  further  study  of  his  diary,  to  illustrate  the  present  point  so  curiously 
that  I  must  refer  to  it  here.  After  mentioning  two  other  cases  in 
which  entries  in  Mr.  Grant's  diary  confirm  his  recollection  of  strong 
impressions  nearly  coincident  with  deaths,  Mr.  Gurney  continues  : — 

"  I  have  studied  in  Mr.  Grant's  diary  the  full  record  of  a  third  case 
which  was  even  more  remarkable  than  the  first,  as  it  included  the 
peculiarity  that,  for  some  time  after  his  first  impression,  he  felt  forcibly 
impelled  to  draw  the  figure  of  the  person  who  died.  The  case  was  made 
the  more  striking  to  me  by  the  fact  that  Mr.  Grant  was  so  certain  that 
the  death  (the  time  of  which  he  had  only  very  vaguely  learnt)  must 
have  coincided  in  date  with  his  impression,  that  he  had  actually  not  taken 
the  trouble  to  verify  the  coincidence.  He  left  it  to  me  to  find  in  the 
Times  obituary — as  he  confidently  foretold  that  I  should — that  the 
death  (which  was  quite  unexpected)  occurred,  thousands  of  miles  from 
the  place  where  he  was,  on  the  day  preceding  that  on  which  the  entry 
in  his  diary,  relating  his  impression  of  the  previous  night,  was  written. 
The  impression  of  that  night  did  not,  however, bear  distinct  reference  to 
the  particular  person  who  died,  but  was  a  more  general  sense  of  calamity. 
Certain  reasons  which  at  present  make  it  desirable  not  to  publish  the 
details  of  this  case  may  in  time  cease  to  exist." 

Now,on  a  fuller  inspection  of  Mr.  Grant's  voluminous  journal, (largely 
a  business  record,)  which  he  has  kindly  permitted  me  to  make,  it  appeared 
that  the  impulse  to  draw  the  dying  man  was  the  most  marked  feature 
in  the  whole  incident,  and  furthermore  that  this  impulse  came  on  &omfe 


32  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  8, 

months  after  the  death — but  on  the  night  previous  to  the  day  on  which 
Mr.  Grant  saw,  in  a  casual  newspaper  received  in  Brazil,  the  announce- 
ment of  his  friend's  demise  in  Scotland.1 

The  possibility  of  a  telepathic  impulse  from  the  surviving  members 
of  the  family  of  course  suggests  itself :  but  Mr.  Grant  was  in  a  wild  up- 
country  station  in  Brazil ;  and  it  seems  impossible  that  anyone  could 
guess  at  what  date  the  news  would  reach  him.  The  rough  sketch  which 
Mr.  Grant  was  impelled  to  make  contained  two  figures  (of  which  the 
second  was  a  servant)  and  a  window ;  and  it  truly  represented,  as  he 
afterwards  learnt,  the  circumstances  of  the  death. 

This  narrative  in  some  sense  fits  in  with  a  few  cases  (cf. Phantasms 
of  tlie  Living,  I.,  272,  and  possibly  II.,  52)  where  an  impression  or 
hallucination  seems  to  have  continued  for  some  time  and  then  ceased 
when  the  news  of  a  death  arrived.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  a  few 
cases  (see  Proceedings,  Vol.  V.,  p.  519)  which  suggest  that  if  indepen- 
dent clairvoyance  exist,  the  perception  of  letters  arriving,  or  about  to 
arrive,  may  form  one  of  its  readiest  manifestations.  The  subject  is  one 
to  which  observation  should  be  specially  directed. 

On  the  whole,  therefore,  our  cases  where  knowledge  of  earthly 
affairs  on  the  decedent's  part  is  clearly  indicated  are  few  indeed.  I 
may  add  a  case  of  Mr.  Dale  Owen's,2  where  the  knowledge  which  the 
ghost  seems  to  show  is  not  of  a  death,  but  of  a  more  mundane  event. 

VI. — In  March,  1846,  Mrs.  R.,  wife  of  Dr.  R.,  of  Philadelphia,  was  sitting 
with  her  two  daughters  in  her  dining-room  about  midday.  They  all  three 
saw  a  figure  enter,  move  through  the  room,  contemplate  a  portrait  of  Dr. 
R.,  and  disappear.  Mrs.  R.  and  the  elder  daughter,  who  saw  the  figure  best, 
identified  it  in  dress  and  aspect  with  Dr.  R.  's  mother,  who  had  died  about 
10  years  before. 

The  ladies  narrated  this  incident  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Y.,  and  he  independently 
gave  to  Mr.  Owen  (at  what  date  is  not  said)  an  account  "  tallying  exactly  " 
with  the  account  given  to  him  by  the  two  ladies  mainly  concerned. 

On  the  return  home  of  Dr.  R.  that  evening  it  further  appeared  that  the 
apparition  involved  a  remarkable  coincidence.     "  Shortly  before  her  death," 

1 1  am  not  sure  how  many  hours  the  impulse  lasted,  Mr.  Grant  having  been  obliged 
to  return  to  Brazil  before  sending  me  a  copy  of  the  passage  in  his  journal. 

2  The  DcbatcabU  Land,  2nd  Ed.,  p.  319. — Mr.  Robert  Dale  Owen's  works  contain 
several  narratives  which  might  find  place  in  this  collection.  I  have  preferred  to  leave 
the  reader  to  consult  them  for  himself,  and  judge  of  the  value  to  be  attached  to  them. 
Mr.  Owen  cannot  be  classed  as  a  first-rate  observer ;  having  been  once  at  least  grossly 
deceived  by  fraudulent  mediums.  Nor  is  his  standard  of  what  constitutes  evidence  very 
high,  as  is  shown  by  the  admission  to  his  volumes  of  sundry  remote  and  inconclusive 
stories.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  his  own  honesty  and  his  strong  wish  to  be  accurate  are 
undoubted.  He  wrote  out  the  accounts  given  to  him  with  care,  and,  as  a  rule,  submitted 
them  for  revision  to  the  narrator.  Where  the  narrators  were  known  to  him  as  persons  of 
probity  and  position,  and  give  their  account  at  first-hand,  we  may  be  pretty  sure  that  the 
main  facts  are  correct.  It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  the  full  names  are  so  rarely  given, 
and  that  Mr.  Owen's  papers  either  have  not  been  preserved,  or  are  not  now  accessible.) 


1889.]  More  than  a  Year  after  Death.  33 

says  Mrs.  Owen,  "Dr.  R.'s  mother  had  strongly  advised  her  son  to  buy  a  house 
in  the  neighbourhood,  which  he  ultimately  purchased.  She  had  also  about 
that  time  stated  to  a  friend  of  hers,  Mrs.  C. ,  that  if  her  son  did  well,  she 
would,  if  permitted,  return  from  the  other  world  to  witness  his  prosperity. 
.  .  •  As  nearly  as  could  be  ascertained,  at  the  very  hour  [of  the  apparition] 
the  deeds  by  which  Dr.  R.  became  the  legal  proprietor  of  the  house  in  which 
she  appeared  were  delivered  to  him  by  its  former  possessor." 

The  inference  suggested  is  that  here  the  prosperous  action — as  in  other 
cases  the  impending  or  the  actual  decease  of  the  survivor — attracted  the 
attention,  and  thence  in  some  way  induced  the  appearance,  of  the  long- 
departed  friend. 

We  proposed  roughly  to  divide  the  apparently  motived  actions  of 
these  apparitions  into  the  reasonable  and  the  unreasonable  : — that  is  to 
say,  into  actions  which  seem  to  imply  real  intention  on  the  decedent's 
part,  and  actions  which  suggest  the  mere  unconscious  working  out  of 
some  old  prejudice  or  bygone  impulse.  Under  which  class  of  motives 
are  we  to  place  the  desire  to  pay  one's  debts  ?  This  desire  is  in  itself 
legitimate ;  but  nevertheless,  when  the  debts  are  trifling,  there  seems 
something  undignified  in  a  postmortem  preoccupation  with  a  small 
account  which  the  decedent  has  left  no  funds  to  settle ;  so  that  all  he 
can  now  do  is  to  get  a  stranger  to  pay  it  for  him.  Tet  such  is 
the  situation  suggested  in  a  narrative  which  Dr.  Binns,  an  author  of 
some  scientific  repute  in  his  day,  gives  in  his  Anatomy  of  Sleep,  p.  462, 
adding  that  "perhaps  there  is  not  a  better  authenticated  case  on 
record."  It  consists  of  a  letter  written  October  21st,  1842,  by  the 
Rev.  Charles  M'Kay,  a  Catholic  priest,  to  the  Countess  of  Shrewsbury. 
The  Earl  of  Shrewsbury  sent  on  the  letter  to  Dr.  Binns.  It  is  quoted 
by  Dale  Owen  (Footfalls,  p.  294).     I  abbreviate  it  here  : — 

VII.— "  In  July,  1838,  I  left  Edinburgh  to  take  charge  of  the  Perthshire 
missions.  On  my  arrival  in  Perth,  I  was  called  upon  by  a  Presbyterian  woman, 
Anne  Simpson,  who  for  more  than  a  week  had  been  in  the  utmost  anxiety  to 
see  a  priest.  [This  woman  stated  that  a  woman  lately  dead  (date  not  given) 
named  Maloy,  slightly  known  to  Anne  Simpson,  had  '  appeared  to  her  during 
the  night  for  several  nights  '  urging  her  to  go  to  the  priest,  who  would  pay  a 
sum  of  money,  three  and  tenpence,  which  the  deceased  owed  to  a  person 
not  specified.] 

"  I  made  inquiry,  and  found  that  a  woman  of  that  name  had  died,  who  had 
acted  as  washerwoman  and  followed  the  regiment.  Following  up  the  inquiry 
I  found  a  grocer  with  whom  she  had  dealt,  and  on  asking  him  if  a  female 
named  Maloy  owed  him  anything,  he  turned  up  his  books,  and  told  me  she  did 
owe  him  three  and  tenpence.  I  paid  the  sum.  Subsequently  the  Presbyterian 
woman  came  to  me,  saying  that  she  was  no  more  troubled." 

This  account,  though  first-hand,  is  remote,  and  I  know  of  no  recent 
cases  that  are  quite  parallel.  But  the  point  on  which  I  here  insist  is 
that  the  triviality  of  the  ghost's  alleged  motive  is  no  reason  for 
disbelieving  the  narrative.      We  have  no    right   to   assume  WiaX.   a» 


34  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  8, 

decedent,  by  the  mere  fact  of  his  decease,  will  see  things  in  a  larger 
light,  or  shake  off  the  anxieties,  the  prepossessions,  the  superstition! 
of  earth.  Or  even  if  we  assume  that  he  does  in  some  sort  enter  on  a 
larger  existence,  it  does  not  follow  that  the  conduct  of  his  apparition 
will  reflect  his  new  knowledge  rather  than  the  impulses  originated  by 
his  earthly  being.1 

In  fact,  as  we  shall  presently  try  to  show,  there  is  some  reason  to 
suppose  that  the  apparition  is  due  to  something  like  the  working  out  of  a 
post-hypnotic  suggestion.  It  may  be  entirely  absorbed  in  the  fulfilment 
of  an  idea  implanted  in  the  decedent's  mind  in  his  earthly  days,  or 
impressed  upon  him  at  the  moment  of  death.  Thus  we  may  conceive  a 
murdered  man,  for  instance,  as  feeling  persistently  that  he  ought  not 
to  have  been  murdered, — that  his  existence  should  still  be  continuing 
in  his  earthly  home.  And  if  his  apparition  is  seen  in  that  home,  we 
need  not  say  that  he  is  "  condemned  to  walk  there,"  but  rather  that 
his  memory  or  his  dream  goes  back  irresistibly  to  the  scene  to  which  in 
a  sense  he  feels  that  he  still  belongs. 

I  say  "  his  memory  or  his  dream  "  ;  but  it  is  of  course  possible 
that  neither  word  may  suggest  a  close  parallel  to  what  actually  occurs. 
There  may  be  a  deeper  severance  in  the  personality  of  the  dead — 
a  psychical  fractionation  such  as  that  on  which  Indian  and  other 
philosophies  have  been  wont  to  dwell — which  may  allow  of  a  greater 
independence  and  persistence  in  the  apparition  than  we  usually 
associate  with  the  notion  of  a  dream.  There  is  nothing  per  se  improbable 
in  the  idea  that  our  personality — so  much  more  f  ractionable  even  during 
our  earthly  life  than  we  were  wont  to  imagine — should  be  susceptible, 
when  liberated  from  the  body,  of  still  profounder  divisions.  For  the 
present,  however,  it  seems  better  to  keep  to  more  familiar  analogies, 
and  to  use  the  word  "  dream  "  as  the  widest  term  available  ;  though, 
of  course,  without  assuming  that  the  decedent  is  in  any  sense  asleep. 

Let  us  suppose,  then,  that  the  decedent  tends  to  dream  of  scenes  and 
events  in  the  past,  and  that  the  way  which  he  has  of  old  been 
accustomed  to  regard  such  scenes  or  events  is  still  dominant  in 
that  dream.     We  shall  not  then  be  surprised  to  find  that  what  I  have 

1  It  lias  been  remarked  that  dying  persons  seem  inwardly  sometimes  to  be  pre- 
occupied with  some  very  small  and  remote  matter.  Dr.  Fere"  gives  a  case  where  a 
man  dying  from  disease  of  the  spinal  marrow  had  already  lost  consciousness,  but  was 
momentarily  revived  by  the  injection  of  ether.  He  raised  his  head  and  spoke  eagerly 
in  a  language  which  no  one  present  understood.  He  then  made  signs  for  pencil  and 
paper  and  wrote  a  few  lines.  These  were  found  to  be  a  statement  in  Flemish,  the 
language  of  his  childhood,  as  to  a  debt  of  15  francs  which  he  had  contracted  at 
Brussels,  about  20  years  previously.  Another  dying  man,  with  scarcely  perceptible 
pulse,  was  similarly  revived  by  the  injection  of  ether.  He  turned  to  his  wife  and 
said  brusquely,  "You  will  never  find  that  pin;  all  the  floor  has  been  re- boarded." 
This  referred  to  an  incident  which  had  occurred  18  years  before.  Having  so  said,  be 
expired. 


1889.]  More  than  a  Year  after  Death.  35 

called  irrational  motives  appear  to  influence  the  apparition.  And 
amongst  these  we  shall  observe  a  frequent  preoccupation  with  the  mortal 
remains  or  skeleton  of  the  departed  person.  There  is  at  any  rate  a 
well-marked  group  of  cases  where  the  phantom  seems  to  wish  to  draw 
attention  to  the  fact  that  a  skeleton  is  concealed  in  some  unexpected 
place.  When  skeletons  are  found  thus  hidden,  it  is  of  course  probable  that 
there  has  been  foul  play  ;  and  the  cause  of  the  phantom  may  be 
supposed  to  have  been  in  the  first  instance  the  desire  of  the  deceased 
to  reveal  the  murder  ;  although  the  haunting  may  continue  when  all 
possibility  of  bringing  the  criminal  to  justice  may  have  passed  away. 

There  is,  however,  another  possible  way  of  accounting  for  this 
connection  between  apparitions  and  skeletons.  We  may  ascribe  the 
hallucinatory  figure,  not  to  any  action  on  the  part  of  the  dead,  but  to 
the  hyperesthesia  of  the  living.  It  has  often  been  supposed  that 
certain  "  sensitives  "  are  aware  in  some  obscure  manner  of  the  proximity 
of  dead  bodies.  Developing  this  possibility.  (Proceedings,  VoL  IV., 
p.  154),  I  cited  two  cases  where  such  susceptibility  might  serve  to  explain 
a  feeling  of  horror  experienced  (1)  in  a  room  in  whose  roof  (one  story 
higher)  the  dried-up  body  of  a  murdered  baby  was  afterwards  found  ; 
(2)  in  (and  above)  a  room  beneath  whose  flooring  several  skeletons  were 
subsequently  discovered.  In  each  of  these  cases  there  was  proximity 
under  the  same  roof.  But  in  the  case  which  I  shall  now  cite  there  was 
no  such  proximity  between  the  percipient  and  the  skeleton.  The 
skeleton,  as  will  be  seen,  was  buried  in  an  open  field  which  the 
percipient  merely  traversed  from  time  to  time.  The  bones  were  some  40 
years  old  ;  and  kelp  had  been  burnt  above  the  spot  where  they  lay.  It 
seems  incredible  that  a  man  should  be  thus  affected  by  a  distant 
skeleton  and  yet  capable  of  fulfilling  the  ordinary  duties  of  life  ;  which 
in  the  case  of  a  serious  Scotch  bailiff  must  undoubtedly  have  included 
attendance,  in  the  midst  of  buried  skeletons,  at  church.  The  facts  of 
this  case  are  unusually  clear  and  well-evidenced  ;  the  interpretation  is 
more  than  commonly  difficult. 

Vlll. — Discovery  op  a  Human  Skeleton  by  Revelation  in  a  Dream. 
From  the  Banffshire  Journal  of  January  30th,  1872. 

A  most  unusual  and  extraordinary  occurrence  has  excited  considerable 
interest  in  the  district  around  Banff  during  the  past  few  days,  the  chain  of 
circumstances  leading  to  which  we  are  in  a  position  to  relate  authoritatively. 

William  Moir  is  grieve  at  the  farm  of  Upper  Dallachy,  in  the  parish  of 
Boyndie,  about  three  and  a-half  miles  west  of  Banff,  and  a  mile  west  of  the 
fishing  village  of  Whitehills.  Moir  is  an  intelligent,  steady,  and  modest 
man,  36  years  of  age,  and  married.  Shortly  after  Whit  Sunday  last,  he 
dreamed  that,  on  a  particular  spot  near  the  farm  of  Dallachy,  he  saw  lying 
a  dead  body  with  blood  upon  the  face.  The  dream  was  so  vivid  that  every 
point  connected  with  it  was  deeply  impressed  upon  his  memory.    TYvfc  *\*& 


36  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occwnring  [July  9, 

on  which  he  dreamed  he  saw  the  body  lie  was  a  slight  mound  on  the  sloping 
ground  which  bounds  the  farm  and  stretches  to  the  seaside,  and  about  16ft. 
from  the  high  water  mark.  For  a  time  after  the  dream,  Moir  did  not  think 
much  about  it ;  but  the  idea  of  the  dead  man  afterwards  haunted  him,  and 
he  could  not  exclude  it  from  his  mind.  By-and-bye  the  matter  took  so  firm 
a  hold  upon  his  thoughts  that  never  was  he  a  moment  unoccupied  but  the 
idea  and  the  vision  returned  to  him. 

An  incident  happened  in  the  month  of  July  last,  which  Moir,  at  the  tuna, 
thought  was  the  interpretation  of  his  dream.  A  person  who  had  been  an 
inmate  of  the  Banffshire  Lunatic  Asylum,  at  Ladysbridge,  was  found  drowned  at 
apoint  about  200yardsfrom  where  Moir  dreamt  he  saw  the  dead  body  lie.  Then 
is  a  boat  belonging  to  the  farm  at  Upper  Dallachy,  in  which  Moir  and  some  of 
the  men-servants  occasionally  went  to  Lea  and  amused  themselves  with  fishing; 
and  it  was  while  out  in  this  boat  that  the  dead  body  of  the  lunatic  was 
observed.  It  so  happened  that  Moir  was  the  first  person  to  put  his  hand  open 
the  dead  body  ;  and  he  and  his  companion  proceeded  to  carry  the  body  to 
the  village  of  Whitehills.  When  the  two  men  were  so  carrying  the  dead  body 
of  the  lunatic,  they  passed  over  the  exact  spot  where  Moir  in  his  dream  had 
seen  the  dead  man  lying,  and  the  recollection  of  his  dream  became  very  vivid 
at  that  moment.  When  about  six  yards  beyond  the  spot,  Moir's  companion 
slipped  his  foot,  and  the  end  of  the  board  upon  which  lay  the  lunatic's  body 
fell  to  the  ground.  Moir,  keeping  hold  of  his  end  of  the  board,  observed 
that  there  was  blood  upon  the  face  of  the  corpse,  and  he  looked  upon  the 
incident  as  the  fulfilment  of  his  dream. 

Still,  however,  the  vision  of  the  dream  came  back  upon  the  man.  Ha 
could  not  go  out  walking  or  sit  down  at  home  in  the  evening  without  the 
recollection  coming  before  his  mind.  Indeed,  he  began  to  think  that  hit 
intellect  was  being  affected,  and  he  was  conscious  of  becoming  taciturn, 
morose,  and  absent.  The  disagreeable  feeling  continued  to  increase  in  in- 
tensity, and,  during  last  week,  it  became  positively  painful.  On  Wednesday 
last,  hi  the  discharge  of  his  ordinary  duties,  he  went  to  an  outlying  portion 
of  the  farm,  and,  while  he  was  there  occupied,  the  idea  of  the  dream  left 
him.  On  Wednesday  evening,  however,  it  came  back  with  increased  force. 
On  Thursday  morning  he  went  down  to  Stakeness,  a  portion  of  ground 
recently  attached  to  the  farm,  and  about  400  yards  from  the  spot  with  which 
his  vision  was  associated,  and,  while  there  engaged,  his  oppressive  thoughts 
were  dissipated.  He  returned  to  his  house  on  the  farm,  and,  after  sitting 
awhile,  he  intended  to  proceed  to  the  portion  of  the  farm  at  which  he  had 
been  on  Wednesday,  which  lay  on  the  side  furthest  from  the  sea. 

While  Moir  was  on  the  way  from  the  house,  the  idea  of  his  dream 
occurred  to  him  with  such  intense  vividness  that  he  turned  and  went  back 
to  the  house.  Saying  nothing  to  anyone  in  the  house,  he  took  a  spade,  and 
walked  direct  to  the  spot  of  which  he  had  so  distinct  a  recollection  in  con- 
nection with  his  dream,  and  removed  a  little  of  the  turf  from  the  surface. 
After  he  had  done  so,  he  put  the  spade  down  its  full  length  into  the  ground, 
and  lifted  up  the  earth.  In  the  spadeful  of  earth,  however,  there  was  an 
entire  human  skull.  The  man  was  not  at  all  affected  by  the  appearance  of 
the  skull,  the  idea  in  his  mind  being  that  the  turning-up  of  the  skull 


i 


1889.]  Mare  than  a  Year  after  Death.  37 

nothing  more  than  what  was  to  have  been  expected.  He  took  other  spade- 
fuls of  earth,  and  brought  up  the  lower  jaw  with  teeth,  followed  by  the 
shoulder  bones,  and,  digging  further  along,  dug  up  other  bones  of  a  human 
body  as  far  as  the  thigh.  Laying  the  bones  out  on  the  surface  of  the  ground 
just  in  the  position  he  had  found  them  buried,  he  realised  that  he  was  digging 
up  a  skeleton.  At  that  juncture  Moir  stopped  digging,  and  went  to  an 
elevated  spot  about  60  yards  from  the  grave,  where  he  called  upon  William 
Loriiner,  the  cattleman  at  the  farm,  who  was  pulling  turnips  in  a  field. 
Lorimer  went  to  Moir,  and  both  returned  to  the  spot,  when  Moir  recom- 
menced digging,  and  brought  out  the  lower  bones  of  the  skeleton.  Both  men 
then  threw  the  bones  into  the  cavity,  and  covered  them  up.  Moir's  first 
intention  was  to  let  the  bones  lie,  but,  on  second  thoughts,  he  went  to  the 
village  of  Whitehills  to  consult  Mr.  Taylor,  merchant  there,  as  to  what  he 
should  do.  Moir  had  not  been  10  minutes  in  the  shop  when  Inspector 
M*Gregor,  of  the  county  police,  who  had  been  in  Whitehills,  accidentally 
called  at  the  shop.  Moir  reported  to  the  inspector  what  had  taken  place, 
and  the  two  proceeded  to  the  spot  where  the  bones  lay.  By  the  time  they 
arrived  there  it  was  dusk,  but  the  inspector  had  the  skull  and  some  of  the 
bones  uncovered  at  once. 

On  Friday  morning  Inspector  M'Gregor  returned  to  the  place,  and  had 
the  whole  of  the  skeleton  taken  up. 

The  place  where  the  remains  were  found,  and  which  had  been  so  long 
associated  with  the  disagreeable  dream  in  the  mind  of  Moir,  is  not  at  all  a 
likely  spot  for  an  ordinary  grave.  The  body  could  have  only  been  covered 
with  about  18in.  of  mould,  and  underneath  it  there  were  only  two  or  three 
inches  of  shingle,  covering  a  surface  of  rock.  The  bones  were  considerably 
decomposed,  and  they  may  have  lain  there  for  about  half  a  century.  The  spot 
was  enclosed  by  a  circle  of  stones,  from  eight  to  10  yards  in  circumference  ; 
and  the  stones  and  shingle  were  so  discoloured  as  to  indicate  that  they  had 
been  subjected  to  the  influence  of  fire.  It  is  believed  that  the  enclosed  circle 
was  the  site  of  a  kiln  for  burning  kelp.  At  one  time  kelp-burning  was  a 
business  of  some  importance  in  the  district,  and  there  were  more  than  a  dozen 
of  these  kilns  upon  the  beach,  within  a  few  miles  to  the  west  of  Banff,  the 
last  of  which  were  only  discontinued  about  half  a  century  ago. 

The  finding  of  the  remains  has  been  reported  to  the  Procurator-Fiscal, 
and  the  bones  have  been  taken  charge  of  by  the  police,  pending  an  investiga- 
tion and  instructions  as  to  their  disposal. 

Curiosity  will  naturally  exist  as  to  how  the  finding  of  the  skeleton  has 
after  a  time  affected  the  mind  of  Mr.  Moir.  After  meeting  with  Inspector 
M'Gregor,  the  subject  of  the  dream  ceased  to  harass  him,  and  he  has  since 
enjoyed  an  entire  immunity  from  his  previous  mental  troubles. 

The  whole  circumstances  of  the  case,  as  we  have  related  them,  are  con- 
firmed by  a  variety  of  evidence,  which  shows  them  to  be  as  undoubted  as  they 
are  unusual  and  remarkable. 

Supplementary  statement  by  Mr.  Moir,  Dallachy,  at  a  conversation 
held  in  the  Journal  office,  Banff,  on  Friday,  July  19th,  1872. 

Mr.  William  Moir  is  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Monymusk,  in  Aberdeen- 
shire.    He  is  36  years  of  age,   is  married  to  a  Miss  *E\xm^\iT^,  ixoxa 


38  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  8, 

Banffshire.  Both  Moir  and  his  wife  saw  Dallachy  for  the  first  time 
when  they  came  to  live  there  four  years  ago.  Moir  had  become 
familiar  with  all  the  ground  on  the  farm  by  walking  over  it,  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  his  duties.  There  was  nothing  particular  to  attract  his  attention 
to  the  spot  mentioned  in  the  narrative,  and  he  had  not  paid  any  attention  to 
it  more  than  to  any  other  part  of  the  farm,  till  in  June,  1870,  he  dreamed 
that  he  came  to  the  spot  and  saw  a  man  lying  on  it,  with  his  clothes  on,  but 
bare-headed.  The  man  seemed  to  be  lying  on  that  particular  spot,  the  same 
as  if  he  were  drunk  or  in  a  senseless  condition.  The  first  time  Moir  had 
occasion  to  pass  the  spot  after  he  had  the  dream,  it  occurred  to  him  when  he 
came  to  it  that  it  was  the  spot  on  which  he  had  seen  the  man  lying.  He 
never  dreamed  before  nor  since  about  anything  of  the  same  kind,  and  is 
generally  a  very  sound  sleeper.  Moir  could  not  say  whether  the  man  was 
dead  or  alive  when  he  saw  him  in  the  dream,  but  he  dreamed  that  he  stood 
and  looked  at  the  man,  and  on  seeing  the  head  bare  and  the  face  covered  with 
blood,  he  said  to  himself  in  an  offhand  sort  of  way,  "  That  man  has  come  off 
with  the  worst  of  it."  Subsequent  to  the  dream  Moir  forgot  about  the  man, 
but  his  mind  was  always  troubled  about  the  spot  of  ground  upon  which  he  saw 
the  man  lying. 

Moir  carefully  read  over  the  narrative  and  said  it  was  quite  correct.  He 
had  read  the  narrative  over  and  made  corrections  when  it  was  written  before 
being  printed,  and  immediately  after  the  event  occurred. 

Certified  by 

(Signed)  A.  Ramsay,  Editor  Banffshire  Journal. 

The  next  letter  is  from  Mr.  Alexander  Thurburn,  of  Keith,  to  Mr. 
T.  A.  Stewart,  one  of  H.M.  Inspectors  of  Schools. 

Keith,  March  12th,  1883. 

My  Dear  Stewart, — I  send  herewith  a  reprint  from  the  Banff  shirt 
Journal  of  the  story  of  Moir's  dream,  from  which  is  omitted  a  suggestion 
as  to  the  identity  of  the  skeleton  which  proved  erroneous.  I  also  enclose  a 
copy  of  a  supplementary  statement  which  gives  a  few  further  particulars  and 
explains  the  steps  taken  for  checking  the  accuracy  of  the  original  narrative. 
The  supplementary  statement  is  written  from  notes  which  Nicol  wrote  in 
shorthand  while  Mr.  Ramsay  was  questioning  Moir  on  some  points  which  I 
had  asked  him  to  investigate. 

As  the  matter  was  investigated  by  the  criminal  authorities  there  can  be 
no  doubt  of  the  substantial  accuracy  of  the  facts.  The  Fiscal  might  tell  you  if 
desired  what  was  done.  I  learned  from  Mr.  Ramsay  that  there  was 
no  story  of  murder,  robbery,  or  the  like  associated  with  the  spot  where  the 
body  was  found.  If  hyperesthesia  can  be  admitted  as  the  cause,  Moir  was 
just  the  sort  of  man  in  whom  we  could  imagine  such  a  condition  to  arise.1  He 
seems  to  have  been  of  an  exceedingly  sensitive,  nervous  temperament,  and  if 
I  remember  right  he  fell  into  a  state  of  religious  depression  such  as  seriously 
to  unhinge  his  mind  before  his  death,  which  took  place  in  or  about  October, 
1873.  Miss  Cobbe's  theory  in  the  Echo,  therefore,  seems  to  me  the  most 
possible  one.  I  made  some  inquiries  (with  the  view  of  testing  another 
suggestion  of  Miss  Cobbe's)  regarding  his  early  history  and  the  possibility  of 
his  having  heard  the  story  in  boyhood  and  forgotten  about  it.  It  is,  of 
course,  impossible  to  obtain  absolute  proof  of  the  negative  in  such  a  case, 


1889.]  More  than  a  Year  after  Death.  39 

but  Moir,  the  gardener,  told  me  of  the  movements  of  all  the  members  of  the 
family,  and  I  could  find  no  trace  of  any  means  whereby  they,  who  came 
comparatively  recently  to  the  county,  could  have  known  circumstances 
connected  with  the  mystery  of  which  the  people  in  the  immediate  district 
were  ignorant.     If  I  can  furnish  any  further  details  I  shall  be  glad  to  do  so. 

Alex.  Thubbubx. 

Mr.  Thurburn  adds  further  particulars  as  follows : — 

Keith,  May  26th,  1874. 

I  have  been  making  inquiry  as  to  the  points  on  which  you  suggested 
that  information  might  be  got  about  the  late  Mr.  Moir,  who  dreamed  of  the 
corpse  at  Dallachy,  but  all  that  I  have  learned  is  of  a  negative  character.  I 
discovered  that  there  was  an  uncle  of  his,  a  James  Moir,  a  jobbing  gardener 
in  Keith,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  my  facts, — the  minister  of  Monymusk 
to  whom  I  wrote  having  told  me  that  nothing  could  be  learned  there  as  all 
the  family  had  left  that  parish  years  ago. 

I  find  from  James  Moir  that  the  deceased's  grandfather  was  a  native  of 
Insch,  in  Aberdeenshire,  and  had  a  family  of  six,  of  whom  the  deceased's 
father  was  the  third,  and  James  (my  informant)  the  fifth,  and  that  he 
removed  to  the  parish  of  Monymusk  when  James  was  a  mere  child.  The 
deceased's  father  was  also  very  young  when  he  was  taken  with  the  others  to 
Monymusk,  and  he  continued  in  that  parish  where  the  deceased  was  also 
brought  up  until  he  left  it  to  go  to  service. 

James  Moir,  the  gardener,  knows  of  no  previous  connection  with  the  Banff 
district,  nor  of  any  friends  of  the  family  from  that  neighbourhood  who  could 
have  communicated  to  any  of  them  the  history  of  any  events  that  might 
have  occurred  there.  The  tragedy  at  Dallachy  must  have  been  kept  a 
profound  secret,  since  the  inquiries  of  the  authorities  have  afforded  no  clue 
to  its  solution,  and  therefore  anyone  acquainted  with  the  facts  is  not  likely 
to  have  spoken  of  them  except  to  a  very  confidential  friend.  I  think  it  may 
safely  be  assumed  that  had  such  a  close  confidence  existed  between  anyone 
from  the  neighbourhood  of  Banff  who  could  have  known  about  the  story, 
and  any  of  the  Moir  family,  during  the  lifetime  of  the  late  Mr.  Moir,  his 
uncle,  the  gardener,  would  have  known  of  it ;  so  that  it  appears  extremely 
improbable  that  the  story  can  have  been  told  in  Moir's  hearing  in  his  child- 
hood and  been  forgotten  by  him. 

Mr.  Stewart  kindly  inquired  personally  into  the  case,  and  writes  as 

follows : — 

Keith,  April  7th,  1883. 

Drab  Sib, — I  have  to-day  interviewed  Mrs.  Moir,  and  I  enclose  a  state- 
ment signed  by  her.  She  is  an  intelligent,  fresh-faced  woman,  apparently 
between  40  and  60.  She  was  very  willing  to  answer  my  questions,  and  said 
she  had  received  many  letters  and  answered  many  inquiries  already.  I 
asked  her  if  she  had  seen  the  spot  where  the  skeleton  was  found,  and  whether 
its  appearance  suggested  a  grave  ?  She  said  she  had  often  seen  it,  that  it  had 
no  appearance  of  being  a  grave,  and  that  the  fishermen  passed  over  it  on  their 
way  from  the  sea.  I  asked  her  if,  after  the  skeleton  had  been  unearthed,  her 
husband  still  had  these  dreams  1  She  said  he  had  not,  but  that  the  shock  to 
his  system  led  to  his  death.     She  described  all  the  circum&t&XM&a,  Wh  V<st 


40  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  8; 

husband  had  this  weight  on  his  mind,  which  she  often  urged  him,  even  an 
her  knees,  to  impart  to  her,  as  she  knew  that  something  was  preying  upoa 
him.  But,  in  her  own  words,  "  he  had  not  the  power  "  to  do  it.  I  asked 
her  if  she  meant  that  he  was  unwilling  to  tell  her  about  it,  because  it  might 
make  her  uneasy,  and  she  said  this  was  not  the  way  of  it,  but  that  he  felt 
himself  bound  not  to  reveal  his  experience,  even  to  her.  He  often  went  o*fe 
and  prayed  to  be  delivered  from  the  burden,  and  at  last  thought  that  hk 
reason  was  going.  And  now  comes  part  of  the  history  I  had  not  heard  before. 
She  said  that  the  old  people  in  Boyndie  knew  of  the  sudden  disappearance  of 
a  man  named  Elder  some  40  or  60  years  ago.  He  was  said  to  have  gone  to 
America,  but  had  not  been  traced,  and  it  was  generally  believed  that  he  had 
been  murdered,  and  that,  too,  in  the  room  in  which  Moir  dept.  Drs.  Hirschfeld 
and  Mawson,  who  examined  the  skeleton,  gave  as  their  opinion  that  it  had 
lain  there  for  about  40  years.  Mrs.  Moir  also  said  that  the  soil,  some  16 
inches  deep,  covering  the  skeleton  must  have  been  brought  there  for  the  pur- 
pose, as  there  was  no  soil  of  that  kind  in  the  neighbourhood.  Her  opinion  was 
that  the  case  had  been  hushed  up  to  spare  the  feelings  of  their  friends.  Now, 
of  course,  you  must  take  all  this  for  what  it  is  worth.  Mrs.  Moir  made  the 
statements  to  me  to-day, 

T.  A.  Stewabt. 

P.S. — I  omitted  to  mention  that  Mrs.  Moir  said  that  the  skull  bote 
marks  of  violence. — T.  A.  S. 

Document  III. 

I  hereby  certify  in  presence  of  T.  A.  Stewart,  Esq.,  H.M.I.S.,  that  the 
account  given  in  the  Banffshire  Journal  of  my  late  husband's  dream  was  a 
correct  record  of  the  facts  of  the  case. — Jessie  Moir,  Lower  Towie,  Botriphny. 

Document  IV. 

Milton  of  Noth. 

January  29&,  1883. 
Mrs.  Wiston,  of  Milton  of  Noth,  to  whose  husband  Moir  acted  as  grieve, 
gives   a    concordant  account    of   the  incident,  under  date  January  29th, 
1883,  and  adds:— 

It  was  very  strange  that  from  the  night  of  his  dream  until  the  day  he  dug 
up  the  grave  he  never  told  anyone  what  was  causing  him  to  be  so 
absent  and  unhappy.  He  told  me  after  that  he  felt  he  could  not,  although 
the  thought  of  it  was  sometimes  like  to  deprive  him  of  his  reason.  He  then 
spoke  of  it  quite  openly, and  said  it  gave  him  no  more  trouble;  but  why  this  poor 
man  should  have  had  any  trouble  with  it  at  all  seems  to  me  incomprehensible. 
He  was  more  than  an  ordinary,  honest,  hardy,  straightforward  man,  much 
respected  by  Mr.  Wilson  and  also  his  former  masters.  Neither  he  nor  any  of 
his  relatives  had  ever  been  in  that  part  of  the  country  until  he  was  sent  from 
Milton  to  take  charge  of  the  farm. 

Miss  M.  F.  Reid,  whose  father  was  in  1872  parish  minister  of  Auchendoir, 
Aberdeenshire,  gives  a  concordant,  but  more  detailed  account,  and  adds  : — 

February  24&,  1883. 
Any  addition  to  the  statement  of  Mrs.  Wilson,  which  you  may  find  in  my 
Account,  I  have  taken  from  notes  of  the  story  I  made  at  the  time,  as  related 


1889.]  More  them  a  Year  after  Death.  41 

■ 

to  me  by  reliable  persons  in  the  district  where  I  lived,  who  knew  Moir 
before  his  migration  to  this  sea-board  farm.  I  remember  distinctly  being 
told  then  that  Moir's  reticence — as  he  said  afterwards — during  these  months 
in  which  he  did  not  divulge  his  dream  proceeded  from  an  unaccountable 
feeling,  as  if  he  himself  had  somehow  been  witness  of,  or  implicated  in,  the 
murderous  act.  This  does  not  quite  come  out  in  the  Wilson  narrative,  but 
I  know  this  fact  impressed  itself  on  me  at  the  time,  and  I  remember 
thinking  that  did  I  believe  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis,  this  circumstance 
would  have  indicated  that  in  some  other  phase  of  existence  Moir  had 
witnessed  the  deed,  which  on  his  revisiting  the  spot  he  now  became  conscious 
of  through  the  medium  of  this  confused  dream.  The  revolution  in  his  feelings, 
after  the  whole  circumstance  became  known,  was  most  remarkable.  Moir 
then  spoke  feelingly  of  the  matter  in  all  ita  details,  and  said  his  former  * 
morbid  feelings  seemed  like  the  memory  of  a  painful  dream. 

Mary  F.  Reid. 

If  in  this  case  we  reject — as  it  seems  to  me  that  we  are  forced  to 
reject — both  the  hypothesis  of  chance  coincidence  and  the  hypothesis  of  \ 
hyperesthesia,  we  are  confronted  with  a  conception  of  a  strange  and 
painful  kind.  A  man — himself,  as  the  tradition  hints,  not  blameless — 
is  murdered  in  a  bedroom  of  a  Scotch  farmhouse.  His  body  is  carried 
out  and  hastily  buried  in  the  open  field.  For  40  years  the  murdered 
man  retains  some  consciousness  of  this  tragedy.  He  broods  over  the 
fact  of  his  death  in  that  room,  his  interment  in  that  stony  hillock.  At 
last  the  bedroom  is  occupied  by  a  man  sensitive  to  the  peculiar  influence 
which  (on  our  hypothesis)  these  broodings  of  deceased  persons  diffuse. 
The  dream  of  the  dead  passes  into  the  dream  of  the  living  ;  it  persists 
in  Moir's  mind  with  the  same  intensity  as  in  the  murdered  man's  own 
imagination.  The  purpose  once  achieved, — the  discovery  made, — the 
obsession  ceases. 

And  we  may  indeed  say  that  if  we  carry  our  ideas  of  telepathy  into 
an  unseen  world,  this  is  the  kind  of  haunting  which  we  should  expect 
to  find.  We  are  dealing  presumably  with  a  world  of  influences  ;  and 
we  can  believe  that  a  man  may  come  within  a  current  of  influence 
against  which  no  ordinary  means  of  self-defence  can  avail,  and  which 
may  persist  as  long  as  certain  links  between  the  unembodied  and  the 
embodied  mind  hold  good.  And  on  the  same  principle  we  might 
interpret  the  horror  connected  with  the  presence  of  a  baby's  corpse  in 
the  roof  ;  referring  this  to  some  persistent  current  of  influence  from  the  . 
unhappy  mother  who  presumably  placed  it  there. 

All  this  must  at  present  be  mere  speculation  ;  but  at  any  rate  these 
discoveries  of  skeletons  are  in  civilised  countries  so  rare,  that  any  account 
of  haunting  which  can  be  shown  to  have  originated  before  the  discovery  ■ 
of  the  skeleton  has  considerable  value  as  a  coincidence. 

I  give  another  case  of  this  kind  (already  alluded  to),  from  Mrs. 
Montague,  Crackanfchojpe,  Newbiggin  Hall,  Westmoreland. 


42  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  8t 

June  lift,  1888. 

IX. — Herewith  my  "  Northamptonshire  nights  " — and  days,  as  accurately 
told  as  I  can.  But,  beyond  being  very  real  to  me,  I  am  afraid  they  won't  avail 
you  much.  For  you  see  I  heard  nothing,  saw  nothing,  neither  did  the  maid. 
I  was  startled  when  my  father  told  me  of  the  rector's  confession  as  to  (he 
"  disagreeableness  "  of  that  end  of  the  house — months  afterwards — but  what 
made  most  impression  upon  me  was,  that  having  battled  through  the  night 
with  my  vague  terrors  successfully,  I  could  not  sit  in  that  arm-chair,  in  the 
sunshine,  next  day,  with  the  sound  of  the  cook  singing  over  her  work  dose 
at  hand. 

In  the  summer  of  1872,  my  father  occupied  a  rectory  house  (Passenham) 

not  far  from  Blisworth,  in  Northamptonshire,  for  a  few  weeks,  and  I  went 

down  to  spend  three  days  with  him  and  my  mother  at  Whitsuntide  ;  my  two 

children  and  their  nurse  being  already  there.  The  room  given  to  me  was  over 

the  dining-room ;  next  door  to  it  was  the  night  nursery,  in  which  my/nurse  and 

children  slept,  the  rest  of  the  inmates  of  the  house  being  quite  at  the  other 

end  of  a  rather  long  passage.     I  hardly  slept  at  all  the  first  (Saturday)  night, 

being  possessed  with  the  belief  that  someone  was  in  my  room  whom  I  should 

shortly  see.     I  heard  nothing,   and  I  saw  nothing.     The  next  morning, 

Sunday,  I  did  not  go  to  church,  but  betook  myself  to  the  dining-room  with  a 

book.     It  was,  I  remember,  a  perfectly  lovely  June  morning.     Before  I  had 

been  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  the  room,  and  whilst  wholly  interested  in  the 

book,  I  was  seized  with  a  dread,  of  what  I  did  not  know  ;  but  in  spite  of  the 

sunshine   and    the  servants  moving  about  the  house,   I  found    it  more 

intolerable  to  sit  there  than  it  had  been  to  remain  in  the  room  above  the  night 

before,  and  so,  after  a  struggle,  and  feeling  not  a  little  ashamed,  I  left  the 

room  and  went  to  the  garden.     Sunday  night  was  a  repetition  of  Saturday. 

I  slept  not  at  all,  but  remained  in  what  *I  can  only  describe  as  a  state  of 

expectation  till  dawn,  and  very  thankfully  I  left  on  the  Monday  afternoon. 

To  my  father  and  mother  I  said  nothing  of  my  two  bad  nights.     The  nurse 

and  children  remained  behind  for  another  week.     I  noticed  that  the  nurse 

looked  gloomy  when  I  left  her,  and  I  put  it  down  to  her  finding  the  country 

dull,  after  London.     When  she  returned  she  told  me  that  she  hoped  she 

would  never  have  to  go  to  stay  in  that  house  again,  for  she  had  not  been  able 

to  sleep  there  during  the  fortnight,  being  each  night  the  prey  of  fears,  for  which 

she  could  not  account  in  any  way.     My  father  left  this  rectory  at  the  end  of 

the  summer  ;  and  some  time  afterwards  he  was  talking  of  the  place  to  me, 

and  mentioned  laughingly  that  before  he  entered  it  the  rector  had  "  thought 

it  right  to  let  him  know  that  that  end  of  the  house  in  which  I  and  my 

children  were  put  up  was  said  to  be  haunted,  my  room  especially,  and  that 

several  of  his  visitors — his  sister  in  particular — had  been  much  troubled  by 

this  room  being  apparently  entered,  and  steps  and  movements  heard  in  the 

dead  of  night.     I  do  not  like  to  let  you  come  in,"  the  rector  added,  "  without 

telling  you  this,  though  my  own  belief  in  it  is  small."  Within,  I  think,  a  year 

or  18  months  at  most  of  my  father's  leaving,  the  house  had  to  undergo 

considerable  repair,  and  amongst  others,  a  new  floor  had  to  be  laid  in  the 

dining-room.     On  taking  up  the  old  boards  four  or  five  (I  forget  which) 

skeletons  were  found  close  under  the  boarding  in  a  row,  and  also  close  to  the 

hearthstone.     Some  of  the  skulls  of  these  skeletons  were  very  peculiar  in  form. 


1889.] 


Mare  thorn  a  Year  after  Death. 


43 


They  were  sent  up  to  London  for  examination.  I  am  ashamed  to  say,  at  this 
moment,  I  forget  what  was  the  exact  verdict  pronounced  on  them  by  the 
experts. 

The  Rev.  G.  M.  Capell,  writing  from  Passenham  Rectory,  October, 
1889,  says  :    "  I  found  seven  skeletons  in  my  dining-room  in  1874." 

In  the  above  cases  there  is  no  account  of  the  continuance  of  the 
apparition  or  influence  after  the  removal  of  the  skeleton.  But  I 
will  close  this  group  with  a  narrative  of  an  apparition  observed  in  a 
room  from  which  a  skeleton  had  been  removed  (without  the  percipient's 
knowledge)  some  considerable  time  before  the  figure  was  seen. 

X. — Sent  by  Mrs.  Bevan,  Plumpton  House,  Bury  St.  Edmund's. 

The  following  account  was  written   at  my  request   by  Mdlle.   Julie 
Marchand,  whom  I  have  known  for  22  years  as  governess  to  my  friends  the 
Andrewes.     At  the  time  of  which  she  speaks,  she  was  governess  to  the 
De  G   h    'st  and  the  seene  of  the  story  was  a  house  in  a  street  in  Mannheim.  ^ 
I  read  ih  to  her  to  be  sure  that  I  clearly  understood  it  ;  and  is,  like  all  ghost  - 
stories,   thoroughly  unsubstantial,  though   not  therefore  unreal.     It  was 
written  on  the  23rd  February,  1878,  30  years,  at  least,  after  the  occurrence,  / 
but  not  the  less  very  present  to  the  mind  of  the  writer.  S.  0.  B. 

The  children's  names  were  "  Nette  "  (Antoinette)  and  Charlotte. 

Mdlle.  Marchand  informs  me  (July,  1889)  that  she  has  had  no  other 
hallucinations.  She  is  not  aware  how  long  the  skeleton  had  been  removed 
before  the  figure  was  seen.  

Avant  de  commencer  mon  recit,  il  faut  que  je  donne  une  description  de 
ma  chambre,  qui  e"tait  une  assez  grande  chambre,  presque  carre*e,  ayant  une 
tenture  tres  claire,  ainsi  que  tous  es  meubles,  qui  e'taient  aussi  de  bois  clair. 


|  toilettes"!" 
dea 


1     ™»     I 
toilette 


|  porte  | 


3 

o 

i 


s 


mon 


litj~~l 


porte  de  la 
chambre  d'6tude 


r 


l 


|  toilettes 
enfana 


a 


table 


r 


s1 


lA 


44  On  Recognised  AppaintioTts  occivrring  [July  i, 


•* 

^ 


C'&ait  pendant  le  Car&me  de  184 — .  II  faut  que  je  mentionne  que  piil  \ 
de  mon  lit  j 'avals  une  petite  table,  ou  je  posais  une  lampe,  comme  j'ank  ■ 
Thabitude  de  lire  tous  les  soirs  pour  une  heure  et  plus,  lorsque  j'6tajs  couches. 
Sur  la  table  au  milieu  de  la  chambre  il  y  avait  un  lumignon,  ce  qu'on  nomme  ioi 
German  night-lights,  mais  plus  grand  que  ceuz  que  j'ai  vus  ici.  D  e*tait  nil 
dans  un  grand  verre  d'eau  claire,  de  sorte  qu'il  ne  donnait  aucune  ombre. 
II  n'y  avait  aucun  rideau  dans  la  chambre  excepts  des  rideaux  aux  fenfttres, 
qui  reposaient  sur  la  fenetre  lorsqu'ils  e'taient  tires. 

Un  soir  que  j'e*tais  couchee  et  les  deux  enfans  dormant  paisiblement, 
j'eprouvai  un  sentiment  comme  celui  qu'on  eprouve  en  sentant  une  peraonne 
pres  de  soi.  Je  levai  les  yeux,  et  je  vis  devant  moi,  je  puis  a  peine  dire  une 
ombre  puisqu'une  ombre  vous  apparait  plate,  maisc'6tait  plutdt  la  figure  d'an 
homme  que  je  vis  distinctement  ;  seulement  je  ne  pouvais  distinguer  let 
traits  de  sa  figure,  qui  e*taient  caches  par  1" ombre  d'un  grand  chapeau.  Chose 
extraordinaire  pour  moi,  je  n'eprouvai  aucune  frayeur.  Je  regardai  la  figure 
longtemps,  m'imaginant  que  c'dtait  une  illusion  de  ma  vue.  Je  me  remit  a 
lire  ;  apres  un  temps  je  regardai  de  nouveau  ;  la  figure  4tait  toujour! 
immobile  et  a  la  meme  place.  A  la  fin  j'6teignis  la  lumiere,  je  tournai  le  dot 
a  cette  figure, et  je  m'endorans,  pensant  que  ce  n'ltait  qu'imagination. 

La  meme  chose  arriva  pendant  plusieurs  jours  de  suite.  Craignant  qu'on 
ne  so  moquat  de  moi,  je  ne  mentionnai  la  chose  a  personue.  Les  enfans  tant 
encore  tres  jeunes,  de  9  et  10  ans,  elles  avaient  leur  souper  a  7  heurea  ;  moi, 
je  descendais  a  9  heures  pour  souper  avec  le  Baron  et  la  Baronne  ;  a  10  heuree 
je  montais  ordinairement  pour  me  coucher.  Pendant  ce  temps  le  lumignon 
restait  sur  la  table,  comme  il  e*tait  tou jours  allume*  lorsque  les  enfans  Itaient 
au  lit  ;  puis  la  chambre  d'ltude  restait  eclair£e  pendant  que  j'&ais  en  baa. 
II  faut  que  je  dise  que  l'alnee  des  enfans  6tait  tres  craintive. 

Un  soir  que  je  montais  apres  souper  j'entendis  des  cris  d'angoisse  terrible 
dans  la  chambre  a  coucher.  J'y  courus,  et  vis  mon  eleve  hors  de  son  lit,* 
cherchant  a  arracher  hors  de  son  lit  sa  scour,  qui  donnait  profondement, 
la  suppliant  de  se  reveiller,  lui  disant,  "Chere  C,  O  reveille- toi." 
Lorsque  l'enfant  me  vit  elle  courut  se  coucher.  Je  lui  dis  simplement, 
"  J'espere  que  tu  ne  feras  plus  un  tel  tapage."  Le  lendemain  l'enfant 
paraiasait  si  miserable  qu'elle  m'inqui£ta  un  peu.  Je  lui  demandai  si 
elle  dtait  malade  ou  non  ;  elle  me  repondit,  "  Non,  je  suis  bien." 
L'idee  me  vint  de  la  questionner  surle  sujet  desa  frayeur  dehier  au  soir,  oar 
j'dtais  sure  que  son  6tat  d'etre  provenait  de  sa  frayeur  de  hier  au  soir.  Jela 
pris  dans  une  chambre  seule  pour  la  questionner.  Pendant  longtemps  je  ne 
pus  rien  lui  faire  avouer  ;  enfin,  apres  lui  avoir  promis  qu'elle  ne  serait  pas 
grondee,  qu'elle  pourrait  me  dire  quelle  absurdity  elle  voudrait,  que  je 
desirais  savoir  la  cause  de  sa  peur  afin  de  lui  parler  la-dessus,  enfin,  apres  bien 
des  hesitations  elle  me  dit,  "  Je  sais  que  ce  n'est  pas  vrai,  mais  cela  cependant 
m'effraye."  Elle  me  dit  :  "  Des  que  vous  descendez  on  frappe  a  la  porte  de 
la  chambre  d'&ude,  et  au  pied  do  mon  lit  je  vois  un  homme."  Cela  me 
frappa.  Je  lui  dis,  "  Je  voudrais  bien  savoir  comment  ton  imagination 
effrayee  te  le  repre'sente. "  Elle  me  dit,  "  Je  sais  que  ce  n'est  pas  vrai,"  mais 
enfin  elle  me  dit  il  porte  un  long  manteau,  avec  un  long  col,  un  chapeau  avee 
la  tdte  basse,  avec  une  large  aile.  J'eus  presque  peur  que  l'enfant  ne  vit  mon 
Itonnement,  car  c'e*tait  exactement  la  meme  figure  que  j 'avals  vu  plusieure 


1889.]  More  than  a  Tear  after  Death.  45 

fois  auparavant  debout  devant  ma  commode,  entre  deux  lumieres  et  peut-$tre 
a  quatre  ou  cinq  pieds  de  moi. 

Aprea  bien  dea  reflexions  je  me  decidai  a  mentionner  la  chose  au  Baron, 
puiaque  j'ltais  sure  que  la  Baronne  ne  ferait  que  s'en  moquer.  Je  craignais 
que  l'imagination  de  l'enfant,  frappee  ainsi,  a  tort  ou  a  raison,  pourrait  nuire 
a  la  sante\  Le  Baron,  contre  mon  attente,  devint  si  serieux  que  j'&ais 
etonnee.  D  me  dit,  •'  Je  viendrai  ce  soir  dans  la  chambre  d'ltude  et  nous 
parlerons  de  choses  mdiffSrentes,"  car  je  aavais  que  N.  ne  dormirait  pas 
jusqu'a  ce  que  je  fusse  au  lit.  Nous  attendlmes  jusqu'a  pres  11  heures  ;  nous 
n'entendlmes  qu'un  bruit  qui  pouvait  etre  occasionne*  par  dea  souris,  mais 
apres  un  certain  temps  nous  entendlmes  mon  nom,  aussi  distinctement  que 
possible,  provenant  d'un  coin  de  la  chambre.  J'allai  dans  la  chambre  a 
coucher  ;  je  demandai  a  N.  si  elle  m'avait  appele\  Elle  £tait  tout  a  fait 
reveillee  et  elle  me  dit  non.  Le  Baron  me  dit,  "  Demain  les  enfans 
quitteront  cepalier."  On  nous  donna  deux  chambres  au  plain-pied.  Quand 
nous  eumes  quitte*  nos  chambres,  le  Baron  me  dit,  "  En  faisant  les  armoires 
dans  la  salle  d'  6tude  on  a  trouve*  une  squelette  dans  le  mur."  Je  nel'avais 
jamais  au  auparavant.  J'avais  habits  ces  chambres  pendant  dea  annees  sans 
jamais  avoir  rien  vu  ni  entendu,  excepte*  cette  ann^e.  Plus  tard  ces  memes 
appartements  furent  habitus  par  les  deux  neveux  orphelins,  avec  leur 
gouverneur.  Ha  ne  virent  jamais  rien.  Plus  tard  je  suis  alle*e  tres  sou  vent 
dans  ces  appartements  sans  rien  voir. 

Quoique  je  puisse  dire  avec  verite*  que  j'ai  regarde*  cette  figure  main  tea 
fois,  me  frottant  les  yeux,  et  que  je  n'ai  jamais  vu  la  figure  diaparaitre,  et  que 
je  me  suis  endormie,  la  laissant  a  la  m&me  place,  je  n'ai  jamais  eu  peur,  ce 
qui  me  fait  croire  que  je  n'ai  jamais  pense*  que  la  chose  £tait  reelle. 

We  have  now  discussed  most  of  the  recent  cases  where  a  definite 
motive — reasonable  or  unreasonable — can  be  plausibly  suggested  for  the 
behaviour  of  a  post-mortem  phantasm.  Such  motived  cases  form  a  small 
proportion  only  of  the  narratives  of  ghostly  appearances.  On  the  view 
here  advanced,  this  was  likely  to  be  the  case ;  the  great  majority  of 
such  manifestations  were  likely  to  have  no  distinct  meaning  or  purpose. 
In  popular  tradition,  on  the  other  hand,  the  meaning,  the  object,  of  a 
ghost's  appearance  is  apt  to  make  the  principal  point  of  the  story. 
Accordingly  we  find  that  when  ghosts  have  no  motive  it  has  been 
thought  necessary  to  invent  one  ;  and  houses  where  haunting  figures 
occur  have  been  lavishly  decorated  with  ancient  tragedies — murders  and 
suicides  of  the  most  shadowy  type — in  order  to  justify  the  phantasmal 
visits. 

All  these  dim  unhistorical  stories  we  must  set  aside.  We  must 
realise  the  fact  that  haunting  figures  usually  occur  without  any  such 
sensational  background.  And  we  must  simply  consider  the  few 
indications  as  to  their  true  nature  which  the  actual  evidence  offers. 

In  the  first  place,  and  having  regard  to  the  popular  division  of 
hauntings  into  local  and  personal  cases, — haunted  houses  and  haunted 
men, — we  observe  that  the  evidence  for  haunted  men  ia  oi  a  verj  -W3&& 


46  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  $ 

order.    That  is  to  say,  in  few  of  the  cases  where  a  man  is  troubled  witfc 
the  same  phantom,  recurring  again  and  again  in  different  places,  k 
there  reason  to  class  the  apparition  as  more  than  a  mere  subjective 
hallucination.      We    do   not   find   modern  parallels  to  confirm  the 
often-cited   story   of    Mdlle.   Claizon,   who  was  haunted   nightly  bf 
the  sound  of  a  pistol   shot  (connected   with  the  dying  threat  of  ft 
slighted    lover),   which    sound   is   said  to  have  been  heard  equally 
by  other  persons  present  at  the  time.      The  drift  of  the  evidence,  I 
repeat,  makes  not  for  haunted  men  but  for  haunted  places.     It  tendi 
to  show  that  figures  resembling  deceased  persons  are  sometimes  seen 
in  the  former  habitat  of  those  persons,  under  circumstances  which 
make  their  explanation  as  after-images  or  as  chance-resemblances  im- 
probable.    It  is  plain,  however,  that  these  figures  can  seldom  ocqxr 
under  good  evidential  conditions.    If  I  see  the  figure  of  my  dead  friend 
in  the  room  in  which  he  lived,  you  may  say  that  this  was  a  mere  after-i 
image ;  a  vivid  recollection  of  how  my  friend  used  to  look.     If  yon, 
who  never  knew  my  friend,  see  a  phantom  in  the  same  house,  you  do 
not  realise  whom  the  phantom  represents.     To  make  evidence,  our  two 
visions  must  be  juxtaposed  ;   and  your  description  of  the  figure  must 
be  identified  with  the  known  figure  which  I  saw.     This  may  be  done, 
and  has  been  done,  more  or  less  perfectly,  in  a  variety  of  ways.     Or,  of 
course,  a  mere  single  vision  of  an  unrecognised  figure  may  be  in  itself 
strongly  evidential,  if  only  the  percipient  can  identify  the  personage, 
with  proper  precautions,  from  picture  or  photograph. 

But  there  is  no  part  of  our  inquiry  where  more  care  as  to  evidential 
conditions  is  needed,  or  where  less  care  has  actually  been  used.  In 
our  former  discussions  on  apparitions  coincident  with  a  death,  we  found 
that  even  the  strongest  personal  interest  in  the  vision  was  often  in- 
sufficient to  induce  the  percipient  to  record  it  properly,  or  to  collect  the 
most  necessary  corroborations.  And  in  these  cases  of  so-called  "  haunt- 
ing "  the  meaning  of  the  apparition  is  still  less  the  personal  concern  of 
any  given  percipient.  Posterity — let  us  hope — will  smile  at  the  tone 
of  many  of  the  accounts  which  people  give  of  such  experiences, — their 
sense  of  personal  injury  at  the  idea  that  such  a  thing  should  happen  to 
them, — their  unabashed  avowal  of  having  been  terribly  frightened  at  a 
poor  phantom  which  could  not  hurt  a  fly.  While  there  is  so  much 
diffused  timidity  in  regard  to  the  so-called  "  supernatural,"  the  owners 
of  house-property  naturally  take  the  fact  into  account,  and  conceal 
well-attested  ghosts  as  carefully  as  defective  cesspools.  The  result  is 
that  we  have  a  great  number  of  incomplete  narratives, — narratives 
which  do  not  indeed  break  down,  but  which  stop  short ; — the  experience 
of  one  percipient  being  given  first-hand  and  in  detail,  bufc  other  cor- 
roborative experiences  being  promised,  perhaps,  and  then  withdrawn,  or 
#iven  with  restrictions  which  render  them  useless  as  evidence.     In  this 


1889.]  More  than  a  Year  after  Death.  47 

department  we  have  repeatedly  had  reason  to  believe  that  unwilling 
informants  have  minimised  or  even  denied  their  own  experiences,  from 
the  quite  groundless  fear  that  we  might  so  use  their  narratives  as  to 
depreciate  the  letting  value  of  the  haunted  residence.  We  trust  that 
with  a  truer  conception  of  the  facts  involved  these  repugnances  are 
already  beginning  to  give  way  ;  but  they  have  thus  far  kept  most  of 
our  evidence  for  hauntings  in  a  state  ill-suited  for  public  production. 
There  are  various  cases  where  from  my  knowledge  of  the  infor- 
mants,— and  (if  I  may  so  say)  of  the  non-informants, — I  see  strong 
reason  for  believing  that  something  supernormal  has  occurred.  But 
there  are  few  cases  which  I  can  print  in  anything  like  a  complete  form. 
The  publication  of  even  a  few  narratives,  however,  may  do  something 
to  remove  vulgar  prejudice,  and  to  prompt  to  further  inquiry. 

" It  came  to  nothing "  ;  " What  was  the  meaning  of  it ? " ;  "It 
seems  such  a  senseless  thing  for  a  departed  spirit  to  do  "  ; — such  are 
the  usual  comments  on  the  purposeless  class  of  manifestations  on  which 
we  enter  now.  I  have  already  implied  that  this  very  purposelessness, 
in  my  view,  ought  a  priori  to  have  been  expected,  and  forms  a  strong 
argument  in  favour  of  the  origination  of  these  phantoms  somewhere 
outside  the  observer's  mind.  For  I  hold  that  now  for  the  first  time 
can  we  form  a  conception  of  ghostly  communications  which  shall  in 
any  way  consist  or  cohere  with  more  established  conceptions ;  which 
can  be  presented  as  in  any  way  a  development  of  facts  which  are 
already  experimentally  known.  Two  preliminary  conceptions  were 
needed, — conceptions  in  one  sense  ancient  enough  ;  but  yet  the  first  of 
which  has  only  in  this  generation  found  its  place  in  science,  while  the 
second  is  as  yet  awaiting  its  brevet  of  orthodoxy.  The  first  conception 
is  that  with  which  hypnotism  and  various  automatisms  have  familiarised 
us, — the  conception  of  multiplex  personality,  of  the  potential  co- 
existence of  many  states  and  many  memories  in  the  same  individual. 
The  second  is  the  conception  of  telepathy  ;  of  the  action  of  mind  on 
mind  apart  from  the  ordinary  organs  of  sense ;  and  especially  of  its 
action  by  means  of  hallucinations ;  by  the  generation  of  veridical 
phantasms  which  form  as  it  were  messages  from  men  still  in  the  flesh. 
And  I  believe  that  these  two  conceptions  are  in  this  way  connected, 
that  the  telepathic  message  generally  starts  from,  and  generally 
impinges  upon,  a  sub-conscious  or  submerged  stratum  in  both  agent 
and  percipient.1  Wherever  there  is  hallucination, — whether  delusive 
or  veridical, — I  hold  that  a  message  of  some  sort  is  forcing  its  way 
upwards  from  one  stratum  of  personality  to  another, — a  message  which 
may  be  merely  dreamlike  and  incoherent,  or  which  may  symbolise  a 
fact  otherwise  unreachable  by  the  percipient  personality.     And  the 

1  See  Phantom*  of  the  Living,  Vol.  I.,  p.  231. 


48  On  Becognised  Apparitions  occurring         [July  8, 

mechanism  seems    much   the  same  whether  the  message's  path  bl 
continued  within  one  individual  or  pass  between  two ; — whether  Al 
own  submerged  self    be  signalling  to  his  emergent  self,   or  B  to 
telepathically  stimulating  the  hidden  fountains  of  perception  in  A  ^ 
If    anything    like    this    be    true,    it    seems     plainly    needful    that  -Is 
all    that   we    know    of   abnormal  or   supernormal    communication  "" 
between  minds,  or  states  of   the  same  mind,  still  embodied  in  4kd» 
should   be  searched   for  analogies  which  may  throw  light  on  thii  *- 
strangest  mode  of   intercourse  between  embodied  and  disembodied 
minds.     Our  steps  on  this  uncertain  ground  must  needs  be  short  anfl 
wavering.     But  they  may  help  to  mark  the  right  direction  for  futun 
inquiry,  and  to  dispel  certain  vulgar  preconceptions  which  can  only 
mislead. 

A  communication  (if  such  a  thing  exists)  from  a  departed  person 
to  a  person  still  on  earth  is  at  any  rate  a  communication  from  a  mini 
in  one  state  of  existence  to  a  mind  in  a  very  different  state  of  existent* 
And  it  is,  moreover,  a  communication  from  one  mind  to  another  which 
passes  through  some  channel  other  than  the  ordinary  channels  of  sense;- 
— since  on  one  side  of  the  gulf  no  material  sense-organs  exist.  It  will 
apparently  be  an  extreme  instance  of  both  these  classes — of  communi- 
cations between  state  and  state,1  and  of  telepathic  communications; 
and  we  ought,  therefore,  to  approach  it  by  considering  the  less  advanced 
cases  of  both  these  types. 

On  what  occasions  do  we  commonly  find  a  mind  conversing  with 
another  mind  not  on  the  same  plane  with  itself?  —  with  a  mind 
inhabiting  in  some  sense  a  different  world,  and  viewing  the  environ- 
ment with  a  difference  of  outlook  greater  than  the  mere  difference  of 
character  of  the  two  personages  will  account  for  1 

The  first  instance  of  this  sort  which  will  occur  to  us  lies  in 
spontaneous  somnambulism, — or  colloquy  between  a  person  asleep  and 
a  person  awake.  And  observe  here  how  slight  an  accident  allows  us 
to  enter  into  converse  with  a  state  which  at  first  sight  seems  a  type  of 
incommunicable  isolation.  "  Awake,  we  share  our  world,"  runs  the  old 
saying,  "but  each  dreamer  inhabits  a  world  of  his  own."  Yet  the 
dreamer,  apparently  so  self-enclosed,  may  be  gently  led,  or  will 
spontaneously  enter,  into  converse  with  waking  men. 

The  somnambulist, — or  rather  the  somniloquist, — for  it  is  the  talking 
rather  than  the  walking  which  is  the  gist  of  the  matter, — is  thus  our 
first  natural  type  of  the  revenant. 

1  Some  word  is  much  needed  to  express  communications  between  one  state  and 
another— e.g.t  between  the  somnambulic  and  the  waking  state,  or,  in  hypnotism,  the 
cataleptic  and  the  somnambulic,  &c.  The  word  "methectic  "  (jxtBcKTucfc)  seems  to  me 
the  most  suitable ; — especially  since  fildc £tr  happens  to  be  the  word  used  by  Plato 
(Parm.  132  D.)  for  participation  between  ideas  and  concrete  objects.  Or  the  word 
*'  inter -state  "  might  be  pressed  into  this  new  duty. 


1889.]  More  than  a  Yewr  after  Death.  49 

And  observing  the  habits  of  somnambulists  we  note  that  the  degree 
in  which  they  can  communicate  with  other  minds  varies  greatly  in 
different  cases.  One  sleep-waker  will  go  about  his  customary  avocations, 
without  recognising  the  presence  of  any  other  person  whatever. 
Another  will  recognise  certain  persons  only ;  or  will  answer  when 
addressed,  but  only  on  certain  subjects ; — his  mind  coming  into  contact 
with  other  minds  only  on  a  very  few  points.  Rarely  or  never  will  a 
somnambulist  spontaneously  notice  what  other  persons  are  doing,  and 
adapt  his  own  actions  thereto. 

Next  let  us  turn  from  natural  to  induced  sleep-waking; — from 
idiopathic  somnambulism  to  the  hypnotic  trance. — Here  too,  throughout 
the  different  stages  of  the  trance,  we  find  a  varying  and  partial  (or 
elective)  power  of  communication. — Sometimes  the  entranced  subject 
makes  no  sign  whatever.  Sometimes  he  seems  able  to  hear  and  answer 
one  person,  or  certain  persons,  and  not  others. — Sometimes  he  will  talk 
freely  to  all ;  but  however  freely  he  may  talk,  he  is  not  exactly  his 
waking  self. — And  as  a  rule  he  has  no  recollection,  or  a  very  imperfect 
recollection,  in  waking  life  of  what  he  has  said  or  done  in  his  trance. 

Judging,  then,  from  such  analogy  as  communications  from  one 
living  state  to  another  can  suggest  to  us,  we  shall  expect  that  the 
communication  of  a  disembodied  or  discarnate  person  witn  an  incarnate, 
if  such  exist,  will  be  subject  to  narrow  limitations,  and  very  possibly 
will  not  form  a  part  of  the  main  current  of  the  supposed  discarnate 
consciousness. 

Looking  back  upon  some  of  the  cases  above  given,  we  shall  recognise 
that  this  description  is  at  any  rate  consistent  with  their  details,  so  far 
as  it  goes.  The  phantasmal  figure  has  rarely  seemed  to  meet  the  living 
percipient  with  any  direct  attention,  but  rather  to  be  working  out  some 
fore-ordained  suggestion  with  little  reference  to  any  other  mind. 

And  now  to  take  the  other  aspect  of  the  analogy  which  presented 
itself.  Let  us  consider  the  characteristics  of  telepathic  communication ; 
since  the  intercourse  of  the  discarnate  with  the  incarnate, — however 
different  it  may  be  from  thought-transference  among  living  persons, — 
must,  at  least,  be  less  different  from  thought-transference  than  from 
ordinary  speech  or  gesture. 

Beginning,  then,  with  small  experimental  cases  of  thought-trans- , 
ference,  we  observe  that  the  agent  who  projects  a  mental  picture  is 
not  commonly  aware  whether  he  has  succeeded  in  transferring  it  or  no ; 
and  we  also  observe  that  it  is  often  imperfectly  transferred,  or 
incorrectly  realised  by  the  percipient.  Analogically,  we  may  suppose 
that  the  discarnate  intelligence  may  project  a  picture  into  some  living 
mind  without  being  aware  that  he  has  done  so ;  and  moreover,  that 
this  picture,  as  realised  by  the  living  person,  may  differ  considerably 
from  the  picture  existing  in  the  discarnate  mind.     Out  n«x.\»  &to^  S& 


50  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  8, 

still  more  important.  For  we  come  to  cases  where  the  image  projected 
before  the  percipient's  consciousness  is  not  that  of  a  mere  diagram,  or 
number,  or  material  object  of  any  kind,  but  is  an  image  of  the 
"  agent "  himself.  Readers  of  Phantasms  of  the  Living  will  remember 
that  in  these  cases  the  agent  is  not  usually  aware  of  having  produced 
this  effect  on  the  percipient.  There  are,  indeed,  some  instances  where 
he  himself  has  some  kind  of  corresponding  impression, — as  of  seeing 
the  percipient  at  the  moment  when  the  percipient  sees  him, — and  to 
these  we  have  given  the  name  of  reciprocal  cases.  And  in  many  cases 
it  is  impossible  to  say  whether  this  reciprocity  existed  or  no,  since  the 
agent  dies  almost  at  the  moment  of  the  apparition.  Still,  these  cases 
as  a  whole  confirm  the  view  already  suggested,  that  the  agent  in 
apparitions  is  not  necessarily  conscious  of  the  effect  which  he  is  in 
some  way  producing.  And,  finally,  there  is  a  small  but  very  instructive 
group  of  cases  where  the  agent  has  voluntarily  induced  an  apparition 
of  himself  to  a  distant  percipient,  as  a  matter  of  experiment ; — acting 
thus  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  way  in  which  we  may  imagine  a 
departed  friend  to  act,  if  he  desires  to  make  an  impression  of  his 
presence  upon  a  friend  who  survives.  What>  then,  is  the  behaviour  of 
the  apparition  thus  produced  ?  How  far  does  it  indicate  intelligence  or 
initiative  ?  How  far  does  its  action  form  a  part  of  the  normal  train  of 
consciousness — or  enter  into  the  normal  train  of  memory — of  the  agent 
from  whom  it  in  some  way  emanates?  Let  us  consider  the  principal 
cases  of  tliis  kind  recorded  in  Phantasms  oftlte  Living. 

Case  13,  Vol.  I.,  p.  103. — Figure  speaks — uncertain  with  what 
amount  of  intelligence.  Agent  (asleep  at  the  time)  is  not  conscious  of 
having  succeeded  in  appearing. 

Cases  14,  15,  16,  Vol.  I.,  p.  104-109.— Mr.  S.  H.  B.'s  figure  is  seen, 
on  four  occasions,  as  willed  by  him.  On  three  of  the  occasions  he  is 
asleep,  on  the  fourth  in  a  state  of  self-induced  trance-like  concentration, 
— In  no  case  does  he  know  afterwards  whether  he  has  succeeded  or 
not. — On  one  occasion  the  figure  performs  a  trifling  act  which  Mr. 
S.  H.  B.,  had  willed  that  it  should  perform.  On  another  occasion  it 
performs  a  similar  action  without  any  previous  intention  on  Mr.  S.  H." 
B.'s  part. 

Case  685,  Vol.  II.,  p.  671. — Mr.  Cleave  is  hypnotised ;  sees  a 
room  at  a  distance ;  is  twice  seen  in  that  room. — In  this  case  the  agent 
remembers  his  own  apparent  presence  in  the  distant  room. — The 
figure  merely  stands  in  the  room  ;  does  not  act. 

Case  686,  Vol.  II.,  p.  675. —  Mrs.  Russell,  in  waking  state,  desires 
intensely  to  become  manifest  to  her  family  at  a  distance  (Scotland 
to  Germany).  She  is  seen  ;  has  no  knowledge  of  having  been  thus  seen. 

Case  given,  Vol.  I.,  p.  lxxxi. — Mr.  Godfrey  three  times  wills  to  be 
perceived  by  a  certain  person.     Twice  his  figure  is  perceived, — on  the 


1889.]  More  than  a  Tear  after  Death.  51 

third  occasion  he  fails. — After  each  success  he  had  a  vague  knowledge 
that  he  had  succeeded. — On  one  occasion  the  figure  seems  to  speak 
bat  only  a  word. 

Case  given  in  Journal — Baron  v.  Notzing,  in  waking  conditions, 
desires  to  impress  himself  upon  a  person  out  of  sight.  He  succeeds ; 
has  no  knowledge  that  he  has  succeeded. 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  cases  which,  as  we  have  said,  ought 
theoretically  to  form  the  closest  parallel  to  post-mortem  apparitions, 
do  in  effect  actually  present  us  incidents  strongly  resembling  the 
behaviour  of  those  posthumous  phantoms. 

To  put  the  matter  in  a  crude  way ;  the  behaviour  of  phantasms  of 
the  living  suggests  dreams  dreamt  by  the  living  persons  whose  phantoms 
appear.  And  similarly  the  behaviour  of  phantasms  of  the  dead  suggests 
dreams  dreamt  by  the  deceased  persons  whose  phantasms  appear.  The 
actions  of  these  phantasms  may  therefore  be  expected  to  be  vague  and 
meaningless,  or  at  any  rate  to  offer  little  response  or  adaptation  to  the 
actions  of  the  persons  who  observe  them.  For  they  will  presumably 
be  conditioned  either  by  some  definite  previous  self-suggestion,  (as  in 
S.  H.  B.'s  case,  above  cited),  or  by  some  automatic  recurrence  to  a 
familiar  train  of  associations. 

And  under  the  heading  of  "  automatic  recurrence "  we  ought 
probably  to  place  the  appearances  which  seem  to  depend  on  locality 
alone.  Whatever  position  the  departed  may  hold  towards  space, — 
whether  they  inhabit  our  space,  or  some  other  form  of  space,  or  are 
extra-spatial  entities, — we  must  suppose  that  their  memory  deals  with 
the  space-relations  of  the  past.  And  if  there  be  a  memory  of  space, 
this  is  in  itself  a  relation  to  space.  If  the  decedent  recollects  scenes 
which  he  has  known,  then  we  may  conceive  that  this  recollection  of  his' 
may  become  somehow  perceptible  to  other  minds. 

The  notion  that  unembodied  intelligences  can  have  any  relation  to 
space  may  appear  to  some  minds  as  unphilosophical.  It  seems  to  lead 
on  to  those  primitive  forms  of  materialism  ;  those  savage  conceptions  of 
the  spirits  of  the  dead,  which  modern  Spiritualism  undoubtedly  repro- 
duces under  a  new  colour,  but  which  philosophy  has  learnt  to  disdain. 
We  can,  however,  form  no  real  conception  of  a  disembodied  existence  ; 
and  it  is  better  not  to  assume  as  a  matter  of  course  either  any 
resemblances  or  any  differences  from  our  own  condition  beyond  what 
the  actual  evidence  points  to.  And  at  any  rate  this  conception  of 
a  dead  maris  dream, — of  a  probably  unconscious  gravitation  of  some 
fraction  of  his  disembodied  entity  towards  his  old  associations ; — a 
flowing  of  some  backwater  of  his  being's  current  into  channels  familiar 
long  ago; — will  serve  to  supply  a  fairly  coherent  conception  of  the 
meaning  of  those  vague  haunting 8  into  which,  as  we  have  seen,  our 
narratives  of  recognised  post-mortem  apparitions  im^rcepiVbVj  ^&&. 

Y>1 


52  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occu/rrimg  [July  8, 

The  strong  and  weak  points  of  the  evidence  for  recognised  appari- 
tions and  for  vague  hauntings  are  in  some  sense  complementary  to 
each  other.  Recognised  apparitions  have  an  obvious  meaning,  bat 
weak  attestation ;  vague  hauntings  have  strong  attestation,  but  an 
hard  to  interpret.  If  recognised  apparitions  of  the  dead,  under 
circumstances  precluding  the  possibility  of  mere  subjective  hallucina- 
tion, occurred  so  frequently  that  chance-coincidence  were  excluded,  we 
should  have  a  right  to  assume  that  the  so-called  dead  were  still  in  some 
way  influencing  the  living.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  the  evidence  to  such 
appearances  is  as  yet  so  scanty  that  although  personally  I  incline  to 
accept  it,  I  cannot  present  it  to  others  as  at  present  conclusive.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  evidence  that  in  certain  houses  several  persons 
have  had  hallucinations,  independently  of  each  other,  and  beyond  the 
limits  of  chance-coincidence,  is,  I  think  (as  Mrs.  Sidgwick's  paper  in 
Vol.  III.  showed),  exceedingly  strong.  The  question  remains  as  to 
what  the  meaning  may  be  of  these  localised,  recurrent  hallucinationi; 
— whether  they  indeed  bear  any  relation  to  departed  men.  And  tfce 
grotesqueness  of  these  haunting  phenomena, — their  unlikeness  to  any 
effect  which  a  reasonable  decedent  might  be  expected  to  wish  to 
produce, — has  been  a  strong  argument  against  ascribing  them  to  the 
agency  of  a  departed  spirit. 

But  these  incongruities  seem  less  puzzling  if  we  regard  these 
haunting  sights  and  sounds  as  the  fragmentary  reflection  of  some  dead 
man's  ineradicable  dream.  On  that  view  we  need  not  look  for  reason 
in  what  is  unreasonable,  for  purpose  from  what  is  purposeless.  For 
though  in  the  last  resort  it  would  be  an  intelligence  like  our  own  from 
which  these  phenomena  would  spring,  yet  that  intelligence  would  be 
one  with  which  we  could  enter  into  no  real  community.  We  should  be 
observing  and  analysing, — not  messages  from  those  who  love,  nor 
revelations  from  those  who  know, — but  the  incoherent  nightmare,  the 
incognisable  reverie,  of  the  innumerable  unremembered  dead. 

These  reflections  apply  to  a  great  number  of  narratives  of  haunting 
which,  as  above  explained,  are  in  themselves  almost  necessarily  tedious 
and  inconclusive.  I  will  give  one  or  two  only  at  length  ;  but  will  first 
briefly  indicate  the  character  of  some  of  the  rest. 

We  have,  for  example,  a  case  ("the  Gillingham  ghost")  where 
three  persons  separately  see  the  figure  of  an  old  woman  in  a  house 
where  an  old  woman,  reputed  of  similar  aspect,  used  to  reside.  We 
have  a  case  where  a  young  man  reading  with  a  tutor  (at  Waterperry, 
near  Oxford)  sees  a  phantom  of  a  farmer  of  very  upright  carriage  on  a> 
bridge  where,  (unknown  to  the  percipient,)  a  farmer,  formerly  a 
soldier,  had  been  found  dead  some  years  before.  We  have  a  case 
where  a  lady  sees  the  figure  of  a  young  girl  run  across  a  room  (at 
Combermere  Abbey),  which  room   had  previously  been  the  nursery 


1889.]  More  than  a  Tear  after  Death.  53 

in  which  (as  family  tradition,  unknown  to  the  percipient,  went)  a 
16-year-old  daughter  of  the  house  had  been  found  one  morning  dead 
in  her  bed.  We  have  a  case  where  three  persons  independently  saw 
the  phantom  figure  of  a  young  woman  (at  B.  Court).  One  of  these 
percipients,  at  least  (probably  all  of  them),  remarked  (in  1881)  that  the 
head  of  the  figure  was  not  visible.  In  1883  a  skull  was  discovered 
beneath  the  foundations  of  the  room  into  which  this  figure  disappeared. 
We  have  several  cases  of  an  isolated  hallucination  seen  in  a  room 
which  had  previously  been  frequented  by  a  person  resembling  the 
figure  seen, — this  fact  being  unknown  to  the  percipient.  Thus  Mr. 
A.  W.  Hall,  of  St.  Thomas's  House,  Oxford,  tells  us  how  he  saw  a 
venerable  old  man  "  sitting  writing  at  the  table  in  the  centre  of  the 
room  in  which  I  was,"  the  room  being  one  in  which  there  had,  in  fact, 
been  previous  rumours  (unknown  to  Mr.  Hall)  of  the  appearance  of 
Lord  Hood,  Mr.  Hall's  great-grandfather,  whom  he  had  never  seen. 
And  through  the  kindness  of  the  Bishop  of  Ripon  we  have  procured 
the  following  narrative  from  Mrs.  Pittar  (a  near  connection  of  the 
Bishop's),  whose  verbal  account  was  given  to  us  in  nearly  the  same 
words.  I  print  the  case  ; — not  as  possessing  high  evidential  value,  for 
the  identification  of  the  figure  is  plainly  conjectural ;  but  in  the  hope 
that  some  reader  may  be  able  to  get  further  information  as  to  the 
Chateau  de  Prangins, — an  easily  accessible  place. 

XI. — In  the  year  1867  I  was  travelling  in  Switzerland  with  my  husband, 
and  we  stopped  at  the  Chateau  de  Prangins,  near  Nyon,  which  is  now  a 
collegiate  school  for  boys. 

Our  bedroom  was  a  large,  oblong  room,  overlooking  the  Terrace  and  Lake 
Leman,  with  an  old-fashioned  black  writing-table  in  the  middle  of  it.  There 
was  nothing  unusual  about  the  room  or  the  circumstances,  and  I  went  to  bed 
and  slept  soundly.  But  in  the  middle  of  the  night  I  suddenly  awoke  in  a 
state  of  terror,  not,  apparently,  from  a  dream,  for  I  had  no  impression  of 
having  been  dreaming,  but  with  a  sort  of  certainty  that  a  tall,  thin,  old  man,  in 
a  long  flowered  dressing-gown,  was  seated  and  writing  at  the  table  in  the 
middle  of  the  room.  I  cannot  say  what  gave  me  this  certainty,  or  this 
distinct  picture,  for  I  did  not  once  turn  my  eyes  to  the  place  where  I  felt  that 
the  intruder  was  seated.  It  did  not,  in  fact,  occur  to  me  at  the  time  how  odd 
it  was  that  I  thus  knew  of  his  appearance  without  seeing  him.  The  room  was 
flooded  with  brilliant  moonlight  ;  but  I  did  not  venture  to  turn  my  head. 
My  cries  awoke  my  husband,  who  naturally  thought  that  I  had  had  a  night- 
mare, and  could  not  understand  my  persistent  assertion  that  an  old  man  in  a 
flowered  dressing-gown  was  in  the  room.  At  last  he  persuaded  me  to  look  at 
the  table  where  I  had  felt  that  the  old  man  was  sitting  ;  and  there  was  no 
one  there. 

Next  morning  my  husband  mentioned  my  extraordinary  nocturnal  terror  ; 
the  account,  to  our  great  surprise,  was  received  as  a  matter  of  course,  the 
landlord's  married  daughter  merely  remarking,  "  Ah,  you  have  seen 
Voltaire."    It  appeared  on  inquiry  that  Voltaire,  in  extreme  o\&  &^  ws&& 


54  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occwrrmg         [July  8, 

often  to  visit  this  Chateau,  then  the  property,  I  believe,  of  Lucien  Bonaparte, 
and  the  room  in  which  we  slept  was  known  to  have  been  his  sitting-room.  Of 
this  neither  my  husband  nor  myself  knew  anything.  I  had  not  been  thinking 
about  Voltaire,  nor  looking  at  any  portrait  of  him,  nor  did  it  once  occur  to 
me  that  the  figure  could  be  his  until  I  heard  that  morning  from  the  landlord 
that  the  same  figure  was  reported  to  have  been  seen  in  the  same  room,  and 
that  it  was  supposed  to  be  Voltaire's. 

I  have  never  had  any  other  hallucination  of  any  kind. 

1885.  Emily  Pittab. 

How  long  after  death — we  may  ask,  Apropos  of  this  story  of 
Voltaire — is  there  any  evidence  for  the  continued  action  of  the 
departed  ? 

There  are  a  good  many  accounts  of  appearances  pritnd  facie 
representing  persons  dead  for  50  or  100  years.  But  obviously  the 
cases  where  identification  of  so  remote  a  figure  is  possible  are  likely  to 
be  also  cases  where  there  may  have  been  some  kind  of  anticipation  on 
the  percipient's  part; — some  association  of  a  famous  personage  (the 
Empress  Catherine  of  Russia,  <fcc),  with  rooms  which  that  personage  is 
known  to  have  inhabited. 

We  have  a  few  cases  where  an  unrecognised  figure  in  old-fashioned 
costume  has  been  seen  by  more  than  one  person,  simultaneously  or 
successively.  Thus  a  phantom  in  cavalier's  garb  was  seen  in  daylight 
by  two  percipients  together  in  an  avenue  at  Twickenham.  The 
evidential  value  of  such  cases  will  depend  on  the  view  which  we 
ultimately  adopt  as  to  whether  collective  hallucinations  are  ever  wholly 
delusive,  or  imply  some  sort  of  reality  outside  the  percipients'  minds. 

There  is  a  case  investigated  by  Dale  Owen  {Footfalls^  p.  304) 
which,  unless  it  be  an  elaborate  and  purposeless  hoax,  stands  almost 
alone  in  the  definiteness  of  date  and  communication.  This  was  given 
to  Mr.  Owen  by  the  two  principal  percipients, — the  "  wife  of  a  field- 
officer  of  high  rank  in  the  British  army  "  and  a  young  lady,  her  friend 
and  visitor.  It  was  also  independently  confirmed  by  a  Mrs.  O.,  who 
had  been  a  servant  in  the  house  at  the  time  of  the  occurrences.  The 
story  seems  too  complex  to  admit  of  being  explained  away  by  anything 
short  of  an  elaborate  hoax  played  on  Mr.  Owen;  and  it  seems 
improbable  that  these  ladies  should  have  contrived  such  a  deceit,  or 
should  have  induced  the  former  nurse  to  take  part  in  it,  or  should  have 
allowed  the  story,  if  false,  to  be  printed  and  reprinted  without 
comment.  Mr.  Owen,  it  must  be  remembered,  was  a  man  of  the  world 
and  a  diplomatist; — in  no  way  an  absurd  personage,  but  liked  and 
esteemed  in  good  society  in  several  countries.  We  have  endeavoured 
in  vain  to  trace  the  percipients ;  and  even  the  house  (now,  as  Owen 
says,  a  farmhouse)  could  not  be  positively  identified  by  an  inquiry 
which  we  caused  to  be  made  on  the  spot. 


1889.]  Mare  than  a  Tear  after  Death.  55 

The  gist  of  the  story  is  that,  after  many  noises  heard  at  Ramhurst 
Manor  by  various  persons,  three  figures  appeared  to  Miss  S.,  and  one  of 
them  also  to  Mrs.  R.,  and  that  to  both  percipients  the  figures  gave  the 
surname  of  Children,  adding  that  Richard  Children,  one  of  the  figures, 
died  in  1753.  In  Hasted's  History  of  Kent  (published  1778)  the  facts 
of  Richard  Children's  residence  at  Ramhurst  Manor,  of  his  having  a 
wife  and  son,  and  of  his  death  in  1753,  weoe  verified. 

To  this  class  of  cases  belongs  the  remarkable  narrative  which  forms 
the  gist  of  Mr.  Hugh  Hastings  Romilly's  Trice  Story  of  the  Western 
Pacific  (Longmans,  1882).  Mr.  Romilly  has  since  been  Deputy- 
Commissioner  of  the  Western  Pacific.  On  his  book  Mr.  Gurney  has 
the  following  note  : — 

This  book  gives  one  the  highest  opinion  of  its  writer's  strength  of 
character,  as  well  as  of  his  modesty.  Mr.  Romilly 's  mother,  Lady  Elizabeth 
Romilly,  assures  me  that  the  story  is  rather  under-coloured  than  exaggerated, 
and  that  it  is  a  most  literal  transcript  of  events,  which  Mr.  H.  H.  Romilly 
wrote  out,  very  unwillingly,  at  his  father's  urgent  request. — E.  G. 

I  give  an  abstract  of  the  incident,  which  is  at  any  rate  interesting 
as  one  of  the  few  recorded  cases  of  really  close  scrutiny  into  the 
grounds  of  a  savage  belief  by  a  cool  and  capable  observer. 

XII. — In  the  earlier  part  of  his  narrative,  Mr.  Romilly  has  described  the 
murder  on  Christmas  Eve,  1879,  of  a  native  called  Kimueli,  in  the  island 
of  Rotumah,  by  an  Australian  half-caste,  who  was  afterwards  convicted  of 
the  crime.  Mr.  Romilly  had  seen  the  wounded  man  before  his  death.  "  A 
piece  of  coarse  cloth  or  calico  was  over  the  top  of  the  head,  and  round  it, 
to  keep  it  in  its  place,  were  strips  of  banana  leaves.  The  whole  was  secured 
with  cotton  and  strips  of  fibre."  Next  year  at  the  same  season,  Mr. 
Romilly,  with  a  friend  named  Allardyce,  was  inhabiting  a  house  in  Rotumah, 
about  200  yards  from  the  house  of  a  friendly  influential  native  called  Alipati, 
or  Albert,  who  used  usually  to  come  with  other  friends  and  smoke  with 
Mr.  Romilly  in  the  evening. 

For  two  days  before  Christmas  Day  this  man  Albert  did  not  appear  ;  and 
Mr.  Romilly  learnt  that  he  was  afraid  to  walk  from  one  house  to  the  other 
because  Kimueli's  ghost  had  been  repeatedly  seen. 

Of  course  I  laughed  at  him.  It  was  an  every-day  occurrence  for  natives 
who  had  been  out  late  at  night  in  the  bush  to  come  home  saying  they  had 
seen  ghosts.  If  I  wished  to  send  a  message  after  sunset,  it  was  always  neces- 
sary to  engage  three  or  four  men  to  take  it.  Nothing  would  have  induced  any 
man  to  go  by  himself.  The  only  man  who  was  free  from  these  fears  was  my 
interpreter,  Friday.  He  was  a  native,  but  had  lived  all  his  life  among  white 
people.  When  Friday  came  down  from  his  own  village  to  my  house  that 
morning,  he  was  evidently  a  good  deal  troubled  in  his  mind.     He  said  : 

"  You  remember  that  man  Kimueli,  sir,  that  Tom  killed." 

I  said,  "  Yes,  Albert  says  he  is  walking  about." 

I  expected  Friday  to  laugh,  but  he  looked  very  serious  and  said  : 

"  Every  one  in  Motusa  has  seen  him,  sir  ;  the  women  are  so  frightened 
that  they  all  sleep  together  in  the  big  house. " 


56  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring         [July  8, 

"  What  does  he  do  ?  "  said  I.     "  Where  has  he  been  to  %    What  men 
have  seen  him  ?  " 

Friday  mentioned  a  number  of  houses  into  which  Kimueli  had  gone.  It 
appeared  that  his  head  was  tied  up  with  banana  leaves  and  his  face  covered 
with  blood.  No  one  had  heard  him  speak.  This  was  unusual,  as  the  ghosts 
I  had  heard  the  natives  talk  about  on  other  occasions  invariably  made 
remarks  on  some  commonplace  subject.  The  village  was  very  much  upset 
For  two  nights  this  had  happened,  and  several  men  and  women  had  been 
terribly  frightened.  It  was  evident  that  all  this  was  not  imagination  on  the 
part  of  one  man.  I  thought  it  possible  that  some  madman  was  personating 
Kimueli,  though  it  seemed  almost  impossible  that  any  one  could  do  so 
without  being  found  out.  I  announced  my  determination  to  sit  outside 
Albert's  house  that  night  and  watch  for  him.  I  also  told  Albert  that  I  should 
bring  a  rifle  and  have  a  shot,  if  I  saw  the  ghost.  This  I  said  for  the  benefit 
of  any  one  who  might  be  playing  its  part. 

Poor  Albert  had  to  undergo  a  good  deal  of  chaff  for  being  afraid  to  walk 
200  yards  through  the  bush  to  my  house.     He  only  said  : 

"  By-and-bye  you  see  him  too,  then  me  laugh  at  you." 

The  rest  of  the  day  was  spent  in  the  usual  manner.  AUardyce  and  I  were 
to  have  dinner  in  Albert's  house  ;  after  that  we  were  going  to  sit  outside  and 
watch  for  Kimueli.  All  the  natives  had  come  in  very  early  that  day  from  the 
bush.  They  were  evidently  unwilling  to  run  the  risk  of  being  out  after  dark. 
Evening  was  now  closing  in,  and  they  were  all  sitting  in  clusters  outside  their 
houses.  It  was,  however,  a  bright  moonlight  night,  and  I  could  plainly 
recognise  people  at  a  considerable  distance.  Albert  was  getting  very  nervous, 
and  only  answered  my  questions  in  monosyllables. 

For  about  two  hours  we  sat  there  smoking,  and  I  was  beginning  to  lose 
faith  in  Albert's  ghost,  when  all  of  a  sudden  he  clutched  my  elbow  and 
pointed  with  his  finger.  I  looked  in  the  direction  pointed  out  by  him,  and  he 
whispered  4<  Kimueli." 

I  certainly  saw  about  100  yards  off  what  appeared  to  be  the  ordinary 
figure  of  a  native  advancing.  He  had  something  tied  round  his  head,  as  yet 
I  could  not  see  what.  He  was  advancing  straight  towards  us.  We  sat  still 
and  waited.  The  natives  sitting  in  front  of  their  doors  got  closer  together 
and  pointed  at  tho  advancing  figure.  All  this  time  I  was  watching  it  most 
intently.  A  recollection  of  having  seen  that  figure  was  forcing  itself  upon  my 
mind  more  strongly  every  moment,  and  Huddenly  the  exact  scene,  when  I  had 
gone  with  Gordon  to  visit  tho  murdered  man,  came  back  on  my  mind  with 
great  vividness.  There  was  the  same  uian  in  front  of  me,  his  face  covered 
with  blood,  and  a  dirty  cloth  over  his  head,  kept  in  its  place  by  banana-leaves 
which  were  secured  with  fibre  and  cotton  thread.  There  was  the  same  man, 
and  there  was  the  bandage  round  his  head,  leaf  for  leaf,  and  tie  for  tie, 
identical  with  the  picture  already  present  in  my  mind. 

"  By  Jove  it  is  Kimueli,"  I  said  to  Allardyce  in  a  whisper.  By  this  time 
ho  had  passed  us,  walking  straight  in  the  direction  of  the  clump  of  buBh  in 
which  my  house  was  situated.  We  jumped  up  and  gave  chase,  but  he  got  to 
the  edge  of  tho  bush  before  we  reached  him.  Though  only  a  few  yards  ahead 
of  us,  and  a  bright  moonlight  night,  we  here  lost  all  trace  of  him.  He  had 
disappeared,   and   all   that  was  left   was  a  feeling  of  consternation  and 


1889.]  More  than  a  Tear  after  Death.  57 

annoyance  on  my  mind.  We  had  to  accept  what  we  had  seen  ;  no  explana- 
tion was  possible.  It  was  impossible  to  account  for  his  appearance  or 
disappearance.  I  went  back  to  Albert's  house  in  a  most  perplexed  frame  of 
mind.  The  fact  of  its  being  Christmas  Day,  the  anniversary  of  Tom's  attack 
on  Kimueli,  made  it  still  more  remarkable. 

I  had  myself  only  seen  Kimueli  two  or  three  times  in  my  life,  but  still  I 
remembered  him  perfectly,  and  the  man  or  ghost,  whichever  it  was  who  had 
just  passed,  exactly  recalled  his  features.  I  had  remembered,  too,  in  a  general 
way  how  Kiniueli's  head  had  been  bandaged  with  rag  and  banana-leaves,  but 
on  the  appearance  of  this  figure  it  came  back  to  me  exactly,  even  to  the 
position  of  the  knots.  I  could  not  then,  and  do  not  now,  believe  it  was  in  the 
power  of  any  native  to  play  the  part  so  exactly.  A  native  could  and  often 
does  work  himself  up  into  a  state  of  temporary  madness,  under  the  influence 
of  which  he  might  believe  himself  to  be  any  one  he  chose  ;  but  the  calm, 
quiet  manner  in  which  this  figure  had  passed  was,  I  believe,  entirely 
impossible  for  a  native,  acting  such  a  part,  and  before  such  an  audience,  to 
assume.  Moreover,  Albert  and  every  one  else  scouted  the  idea.  They  all 
knew  Kimueli  intimately,  had  seen  him  every  day  and  could  not  be  mistaken. 
Allardyce  had  never  seen  him  before,  but  can  bear  witness  to  what  he  saw 
that  night. 

I  went  back  to  my  house  and  tried  to  dismiss  the  matter  from  my  mind, 
but  with  indifferent  success.  I  could  not  get  over  his  disappearance.  We 
were  so  close  behind  him,  that  if  it  had  been  a  man  forcing  his  way  through 
the  thick  undergrowth  we  must  have  heard  and  seen  him.  There  was  no 
path  where  he  had  disappeared. 

[The  figure  was  never  seen  again.] 

From  this  savage  scene  I  pass  to  a  similar  incident  which  occurred 
to  a  gentleman  personally  known  to  me,  (and  widely  known  in  the 
scientific  world),  in  a  tranquil  and  studious  environment.  The  initials 
here  given  are  not  the  true  ones. 

XIII. — On  October  12th,  1888,  Mr.  J.  gave  me  vivd  voce  the  following 
account  of  his  experience  in  the  X.  Library,  in  1884,  which  I  have  taken 
down  from  memory  next  day,  and  which  he  has  revised  and  corrected  : — 

"  In  1880  I  succeeded  a  Mr.  Q.  as  librarian  of  the  X.  Library.  I  had 
never  seen  Mr.  Q.,  nor  any  photograph  or  likeness  of  him,  when  the  follow- 
ing incidents  occurred.  I  may,  of  course,  have  heard  the  library  assistants 
describe  his  appearance,  though  I  have  no  recollection  of  this.  I  was  sitting 
alone  in  the  library  one  evening  late  in  March,  1884,  finishing  some  work 
after  hours,  when  it  suddenly  occurred  to  me  that  I  should  miss  the  last 
train  to  H.,  where  I  was  then  living,  if  I  did  not  make  haste.  It  was 
then  10.55,  and  the  last  train  left  X.  at  11.5.  I  gathered  up  some  books 
in  one  hand,  took  the  lamp  in  the  other,  and  prepared  to  leave  the  librarian's 
room,  which  communicated  by  a  passage  with  the  main  room  of  the  library. 
As  my  lamp  illumined  this  passage,  I  saw  apparently  at  the  further  end  of 
it  a  man's  face.  I  instantly  thought  a  thief  had  got  into  the  library.  This 
was  by  no  means  impossible,  and  the  probability  of  it  had  occurred  to  me 
before.  I  turned  back  into  my  room,  put  down  the  books,  and  took  a 
revolver  from  the  safe,  and,  holding  the  lamp  cautiously  behind  m^  \  tosAa 


58  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  8, 

my  way  along  the  passage— which  had  a  corner,  behind  which  I  thought  my 
thief  might  be  lying  in  wait— into  the  main  room.     Here  I  saw  no  one,  but 
the  room  was  large  and  encumbered  with  bookcases.    I  called  out  loudly  to 
the  intruder  to  show  himself  several  times,  more  with  the  hope  of  attracting 
a  passing  policeman  than  of  drawing  the  intruder.      Then  I  saw  a  fact 
looking  round  one  of  the  bookcases.     I  say  looking  round,  but  it  had  an  odd 
appearance  as  if  the  body  were  in  the  bookcase,  as  the  face  came  so  closely 
to  the  edge  and  I  could  see  no  body.     The  face  was  pallid  and  hairless,  and 
the  orbits  of  the  eyes  were  very  deep.    I  advanced  towards  it,  and  as  I  did 
so  I  saw  an  old  man  with  high  shoulders  seem  to  rotate  out  of  the  end  of 
the  bookcase,  and  with  his  back  towards  me  and  with  a  shuffling  gait  walk 
rather  quickly  from  the  bookcase  to  the  door  of  a  small  lavatory,  which 
opened  from  the  library  and  had  no  other  access.     I  heard  no  noise.    I 
followed  the  man  at  once  into  the  lavatory ;  and  to  my  extreme  surprise 
found  no  one  there.     I  examined  the  window  (about  14in.  X  12in.),  and 
found  it  closed  and  fastened.    I  opened  it  and  looked  out.     It  opened  into 
a  well,  the  bottom  of  which,  10  feet  below,  was  a  sky-light,  and  the  top  open 
to  the  sky  some  20  feet  above.     It  was  in  the  middle  of  the  building  and  no 
one  could  have  dropped  into  it  without  smashing  the  glass  nor  climbed  out 
of  it  without  a  ladder— but  no  one  was  there.     Nor  had  there  been  any- 
thing like  time  for  a  man  to  get  out  of  the  window,  as  I  followed  the 
intruder  instantly.     Completely  mystified,  I  even  looked  into  the  little 
cupboard  under  the  fixed  basin.     There  was  nowhere  hiding  for  a  child,  and 
I  confess  I  began  to  experience  for  the  first  time  what  novelists  describe  as 
an  '  eerie  '  feeling. 

"  I  left  the  library,  and  found  I  had  missed  my  train. 

"  Next  morning  I  mentioned  what  I  had  seen  to  a  local  clergyman,  who, 
on  hearing  my  description,  said,  "Why  that's  old  Q.  !"  Soon  after  I  saw 
a  photograph  (from  a  drawing)  of  Q.,  and  the  resemblance  was  certainly 
striking.  Q.  had  lost  all  his  hair,  eyebrows  and  all,  from  (I  believe)  a 
gunpowder  accident.  His  walk  was  a  peculiar,  rapid,  high-shouldered 
shuffle. 

"  Later  inquiry  proved  he  had  died  at  about  the  time  of  year  at  which  I 
saw  the  figure. 

"  I  have  no  theory  as  to  this  occurrence,  and  have  never  given  special 
attention  to  such  matters.      I  have  only  on  one  other  occasion  seen  a 
phantasmal  figure.     When  I  was  a  boy  of  ten  I  was  going  in  to  early  dinner 
with  my  brothers.     My  mother  was  not  at  home,  and  we  children  had  been 
told  that  she  was  not  very  well,  but  though  we  missed  her  very  much  wext 
in  no  way  anxious  about  her.     Suddenly  I  saw  her  on  the  staircase.    I 
rushed  up  after  her,  but  she  disappeared.     I  cried  to  her  and  called  to  the 
rest,  "  There's  mother  !  "    But  they  only  laughed  at  me  and  bade  me  come 
in  to  dinner.     On  that  day — I  am  not  sure  as  to  the  hour — my  second  sister 
was  born. 

"  I  have  had  no  other  hallucinations.  When  I  saw  the  figure  of  X.  I  was 
in  good  health  and  spirits." 

In  a  subsequent  letter  Mr.  J.  adds  :  "  I  am  under  a  pledge  to  the  X. 
people  not  to  make  public  the  story  in  any  way  that  would  lead  to  identity. 
Of  course  I  shall  be  glad  to  answer  any  private  inquiries,  and  am  willing 


1889.]  More  than  a  Year  after  Death.  59 

that  my  name  should  be  given  in  confidence  to  bond  fide  inquirers  in  the 
usual  way.'1 

The  evidential  value  of  the  above  account  is  much  enhanced  by  the  fact 
that  the  principal  assistant  in  the  library,  Mr.  R. ,  and  a  junior  clerk,  Mr. 
P. ,  independently  witnessed  a  singular  phenomenon,  thus  described  by  Mr. 
R.  in  1889  :— 

"A  few  years  ago  I  was  engaged  in  a  large  building  in  the ,  and 

during  the  busy  times  was  often  there  till  late  in  the  evening.  On  one 
particular  night  I  waB  at  work  along  with  a  junior  clerk  till  about  11  p.m., 
in  the  room  marked  A  on  the  annexed  sketch.  All  the  lights  in  the  place 
had  been  out  for  hours  except  those  in  the  room  which  we  occupied.  Before 
leaving,  we  turned  out  the  gas.  We  then  looked  into  the  fireplace,  but  not 
a  spark  was  to  be  seen.  The  night  was  very  dark,  but  being  thoroughly 
accustomed  to  the  place  we  carried  no  light.  On  reaching  the  bottom  of  the 
staircase  (B),  I  happened  to  look  up  ;  when,  to  my  surprise,  the  room  which 
we  had  just  left  appeared  to  be  lighted.  I  turned  to  my  companion  and 
pointed  out  the  light,  and  sent  him  back  to  see  what  was  wrong.  He  went 
at  once  and  I  stood  looking  through  the  open  door,  but  I  was  not  a  little 
astonished  to  see  that  as  soon  as  he  got  within  a  few  yards  of  the  room  the 
light  went  out  quite  suddenly.  My  companion,  from  the  position  he  was  in 
at  the  moment,  could  not  see  the  light  go  out,  but  on  his  reaching  the  door 
everything  was  in  total  darkness.  He  entered,  however,  and  when  he 
returned,  reported  that  both  gas  and  fire  were  completely  out.  The  light  in 
the  daytime  was  got  by  means  of  a  glass  roof,  there  being  no  windows  on  the 
sides  of  the  room,  and  the  night  in  question  was  so  dark  that  the  moon 
shining  through  the  roof  was  out  of  the  question.  Although  I  have  often 
been  in  the  same  room  till  long  after  dark,  both  before  and  since,  I  have 
never  seen  anything  unusual  at  any  other  time. 

"  When  the  light  went  out  my  companion  wjas  at  C."  [marked  on  plan.] 

Mr.  P.  endorses  this  :  "I  confirm  the  fofGgbing  statement." 

In  subsequent  letters  Mr.  R.  says  : — 

"  The  bare  facts  are  as  stated,  being  neither  more  nor  less  than  what 
took  place.  I  have  never  on  any  other  occasion  had  any  hallucination  of  the 
senses,  and  I  think  you  will  find  the  same  to  be  the  case  with  Mr.  P." 

The  light  was  seen  after  the  phantom  ;  but  those  who  saw  the  light  were 
not  aware  that  the  phantom  had  been  seen,\for  Mr.  J.  mentioned  the 
circumstance  only  to  his  wife  and  to  one  other  friend  (who  has  confirmed  to 
us  the  fact  that  it  was  so  mentioned  to  him),  and  he  was  naturally  particu- 
larly careful  to  give  no  hint  of  the  matter  to  his  assistants  in  the  library. 

In  the  Journal  S.P.R.,  Vol.  III.,  p.  207,  will  be  found  a  first-hand 
record,  sent  by  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Grignon,  "  of  two  apparitions  of  the 
same  deceased  person  to  two  persons, — relatives, — at  intervals  of  two 
to  four  years  after  the  death — apparently  on  the  same  spot."  Some 
other  cases  which  might  have  been  noticed  in  the  present  paper  will  be 
found  in  Mrs.  Sidgwick's  paper  on  PJiantctoms  of  the  Dead,  already 
cited.  Specially  important  is  the  case  of  haunting  in  a  modern  villa 
(Vol.  III.,  p.  117),  which  haunting  has  continued  since  i\ie  ^^lc^Xaot^ 


60  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring         [July  8, 

of  Mrs.  Sidgwick's  paper,  though  we  are  not  permitted  to  give  any 
account  which  might  lead  to  recognition. 

I  will  conclude  my  quoted  cases  with  a  somewhat  painful  and 
complex  narrative,  which  ought,  I  think,  to  be  considered  when  we  U9 
trying  to  form  a  conception  as  to  the  true  significance  of  "  haunting* 
sounds  and  sights. 

XIV. — The  following  case,  which  we  owe  to  the  kindness  of  Mr. 
Wilfrid  Ward  (and  of  Lord  Tennyson,  for  whom  it  was  first  committed 
to  writing  some  years  ago),  is  sent  by  Mrs.  Pennee,  of  St.  Anne 
de  Beaupre\  Quebec,  daughter  of  the  late  Mr.  William  Ward  (a 
Conservative  M.  P.  for  London),  and  sister  of  the  late  Rev.  A.  R.  Ward, 
of  Cambridge. 

Weston  Manor,  Freshwater,  Isle  of  Wight. 

1884. 

It  was  in  the  year  1856  that  my  husband  took  me  to  live  at  a  house  called 
Binstead,  about  five  miles  from  Charlottetown,  P.  E.  Island.  It  was  a  good- 
sized  house,  and  at  the  back  had  been  considerably  extended  to  allow  of 
offices,  since  there  were  about  200  acres  of  farm  land  around  it,  n< 
several  resident  farming  men.  Although  forming  part  of  the  house,  these 
premises  could  only  be  entered  through  the  inner  kitchen,  as  no  wall  had 
ever  been  broken  down  to  form  a  door  or  passage  from  upstairs.  Thus  the 
farming  men's  sleeping  rooms  were  adjacent  to  those  occupied  by  the  fanuly 
and  visitors,  although  there  was  no  communication  through  the  upstaixi 
corridor. 

It  was  always  in  or  near  the  sleeping  apartment,  immediately  adjacent  to 
the  men's,  that  the  apparition  was  seen,  and  as  that  was  one  of  our  spare 
bedrooms,  it  may  have  frequently  been  unperceived. 

About  10  days  after  we  had  established  ourselves  at  Binstead,  we  com- 
menced hearing  strange  noises.  For  many  weeks  they  were  of  very  frequent 
occurrence,  and  were  heard  simultaneously  in  every  part  of  the  house,  and 
always  appeared  to  be  in  close  proximity  to  each  person.  The  noise  was 
more  like  a  rumbling  which  made  the  house  vibrate,  than  like  that  produced 
by  dragging  a  heavy  body,  of  which  one  so  often  hears  in  ghost  stories. 

As  spring  came  on  we  began  to  hear  shrieks,  which  would  grow  fainter 
or  louder,  as  if  someone  was  being  chased  round  the  house,  but  always 
culminating  in  a  regular  volley  of  shrieks,  sobs,  moans,  and  half -uttered  words, 
proceeding  from  beneath  a  tree  that  stood  at  a  little  distance  from  the  dining- 
room  window,  and  whose  branches  nearly  touched  the  window  of  the 
bedroom  I  have  mentioned. 

It  was  in  February  (I  think),  1857,  that  the  first  apparition  came  under 
my  notice.  Two  ladies  were  sleeping  in  the  bedroom.  Of  course,  for  that 
season  of  the  year  a  fire  had  been  lighted  in  the  grate,  and  the  fireplace 
really  contained  a  grate  and  not  an  American  substitute  for  one. 

About  2  o'clock,  Mrs.  M.  was  awakened  by  a  bright  light  which  pervaded 
the  room.  She  saw  a  woman  standing  by  the  fireplace.  In  her  left  arm  was 
a  young  baby,  and  with  her  right  hand  she  was  stirring  the  ashes,  over  which 
she  was  slightly  stooping. 


1889.]  More  than  a  Tear  after  Death.  61 

Mrs.  M.  pushed  Miss  C.  to  awaken  her,  and  just  then  the  figure  turned 
her  face  towards  them,  disclosing  the  features  of  quite  a  young  woman  with 
a  singularly  anxious  pleading  look  upon  her  face.  They  took  notice  of  a 
little  check  shawl  which  was  crossed  over  her  bosom.  Miss  C.  had  previously 
heard  some  tales  concerning  the  house  being  haunted  (which  neither 
Mrs.  M.  nor  I  had  ever  heard),  so  jumping  to  the  conclusion  that  she 
beheld  a  ghost,  she  screamed  and  pulled  the  bedclothes  tightly  over  the 
heads  of  herself  and  her  companion,  so  that  the  sequel  of  the  ghost's  pro- 
ceedings is  unknown. 

The  following  spring  I  went  home  to  England,  and  just  before  starting  I 
had  my  own  experience  of  seeing  a  ghost.  I  had  temporarily  established  myself 
in  the  room,  and  one  evening,  finding  my  little  daughter  (now  Mrs.  Amyot) 
far  from  well,  had  her  bed  wheeled  in  beside  mine  that  I  might  attend  to 
her.  About  12  o'clock  I  got  up  to  give  her  some  medicine,  and  was  feeling 
for  the  matches  when  she  called  my  attention  to  a  brilliant  light  shining  under 
the  door.  I  exclaimed  that  it  was  her  papa  and  threw  open  the  door  to  admit 
him.  I  found  myself  face  to  face  with  a  woman.  She  had  a  baby  on  her  left 
arm,  a  check  shawl  crossed  over  her  bosom,  and  all  around  her  shone  a 
bright  pleasant  light,  whence  emanating  I  could  not  say.  Her  look  at  me 
was  one  of  entreaty — almost  agonising  entreaty.  She  did  not  enter  the  room 
but  moved  across  the  staircase,  vanishing  into  the  opposite  wall,  exactly 
where  the  inner  man-servant's  room  was  situated. 

Neither  my  daughter  nor  myself  felt  the  slightest  alarm  ;  at  the  moment 
it  appeared  to  be  a  matter  of  common  occurrence.  When  Mr.  Penned  came 
upstairs  and  I  told  him  what  we  had  seen,  he  examined  the  wall,  the  stair- 
case, the  passage,  but  found  no  traces  of  anything  extraordinary.  Nor  did 
my  dogs  bark. 

On  my  return  from  England  in  1868  I  was  informed  that  "  the  creature 
had  been  carrying  on,"  but  it  was  the  screams  that  had  been  the  worst. 
However,  Harry  (a  farm-servant)  had  had  several  visits  but  would  tell  no 
particulars.  I  never  could  get  Harry  to  tell  me  much.  He  acknowledged 
that  the  woman  had  several  times  stood  at  the  foot  of  his  bed,  but  he  would 
not  tell  me  more.  One  night  Harry  had  certainly  been  much  disturbed  in 
mind,  and  the  other  man  heard  voices  and  sobs.  Nothing  would  ever  induce 
Harry  to  let  any  one  share  his  room,  and  he  was  most  careful  to  fasten  his 
door  before  retiring.  At  the  time,  I  attached  no  importance  to  "  his  ways," 
as  we  called  them. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  following  year,  1859,  my  connection  with  B instead 
ceased,  for  we  gave  up  the  house  and  returned  to  Charlottetown. 

I  left  Prince  Edward  Island  in  1861,  and  went  to  Quebec.  In  1877  I 
happened  to  return  to  the  island,  and  spent  several  months  there.  One  day  I 
was  at  the  Bishop's  residence,  when  the  parish  priest  came  in  with  a  letter  in 
his  hand.  He  asked  me  about  my  residence  at  Binstead,  and  whether  I  could 
throw  any  light  on  the  contents  of  his  letter.  It  was  from  the  wife  of  the 
then  owner  of  Binstead,  asking  him  to  come  out  and  try  to  deliver  them  from 
the  ghost  of  a  woman  with  a  baby  in  her  arms,  who  had  appeared  several 
times. 

After  I  went  to  live  in  Charlottetown  I  became  acquainted  with  the 
following  facts,  which  seem  to  throw  light  on  my  ghost  afcoty. 


62  On  Recognised  Apparitions  occurring  [July  8, 

The  ground  on  which  Binstead  stood  had  been  cleared,  in  about  1840;  \j 
a  rich  Englishman,  who  had  built  a  very  nice  house.  Getting  tired  of  oolonkl 
life,  he  sold  the  property  to  a  man  whose  name  I  forget,  but  whom  I  will  oaU 
Pigott  (that  was  like  the  name).  He  was  a  man  of  low  tastes  and  immoral 
habits  ;  but  a  capital  farmer.  It  was  he  who  added  all  the  back  wing  of  tin 
house  and  made  the  necessary  divisions,  &c.,  for  fanning  the  land.  Ha 
had  two  sisters  in  his  service,  the  daughters  of  a  labourer  who  lived  in  i 
regular  hovel,  about  three  miles  nearer  town.  After  a  time  each  sister  give 
birth  to  a  boy. 

Very  little  can  be  learnt  of  the  domestic  arrangements,  since  Pigott  ban 
so  bad  a  name  that  the  house  was  avoided  by  respectable  people  ;  but  it  ii 
certain  that  one  sister  and  one  baby  disappeared  altogether,  though  when 
and  how  is  a  complete  mystery. 

When  the  other  baby  was  between  one  and  two  years  old,  Pigott  sold 
Binstead  to  an  English  gentleman  named  Fellowes,  from  whom  we  hired  it, 
with  the  intention  of  eventually  buying  it.  The  other  sister  returned  to  her 
father's  house,  and  leaving  the  baby  with  Mrs.  Newbury,  her  mother,  went 
to  the  States,  and  has  never  returned.  Before  leaving  she  would  reveal 
nothing,  except  that  the  boy  was  her  sister's,  her  own  being  dead.  It  was 
this  very  Harry  Newbury  that  we  had  unwittingly  engaged  as  farm-servant. 
He  came  to  bid  me  farewell  a  few  months  after  I  left  Binstead,  saying  he 
would  never  return  there.  In  1877,  I  inquired  about  him,  and  found  that 
he  had  never  been  seen  since  in  Prince  Edward  Island. 

In  another  letter  dated  September  24th,  1887,  Mrs.  Pennee  adds : — 

Another  fact  has  come  to  my  notice.  A  young  lady,  then  a  child  of 
from  5  to  10,  remembers  being  afraid  of  sleeping  alone  when  on  a  visit  at 
Binstead  on  account  of  the  screams  she  heard  outside,  and  also  the  "woman 
with  a  baby,"  whom  she  saw  passing  through  her  room.  Her  experience 
goes  back  some  10  to  15  years  before  mine. 

In  a  further  letter,  dated  St.  Anne  de  Beaupre\  Quebec,  January 
23rd,  1889,  Mrs.  Pennee  gives  additional  facts,  as  follows: — 

(1)  Mrs.  Penned  interviewed  Father  Boudreault,  the  priest  sent  for  by  the 
C.  family  to  exorcise  the  house.  Father  B. ,  however,  was  on  his  death-bed ; 
and  although  he  remembered  the  fact  that  he  had  been  sent  for  to  Binstead 
for  this  purpose,  he  could  not  recollect  what  had  been  told  him  as  to 
apparitions,  &c. 

(2)  Mrs.  M.,  who  first  saw  the  figure,  has  gone  to  England,  and  cannot 
now  be  traced.  Mrs.  Penned  adds : — "  The  lady  in  question  told  several  people 
that  she  saw  a  woman  with  a  baby  in  her  arms  when  she  slept  at  Binstead  ; 
and,  like  myself,  she  noticed  a  frilled  cap  on  the  woman.  The  woman  whose 
ghost  we  imagine  this  to  be  was  an  Irish  woman,  and  perhaps  you  have 
noticed  their  love  of  wide  frills  in  their  head-gear. " 

(3)  Mrs.  Pennee  revisited  Binstead  in  1888,  and  says,  "  The  tree  whence 
the  screams  started  is  cut  down  ;  the  room  where  all  saw  the  ghost  is  totally 
uninhabited  ;  and  Mrs.  C.  would  not  let  us  stay  in  it,  and  entreated  us  to 
talk  no  further  on  the  subject.  From  the  man  we  got  out  a  little,  but  she 
followed  us  up  very  closely.     He  says  that  since  the  priest  blessed  the  houses 


1889.]  More  than  a  Year  after  Death.  G3 

woman  has  been  seen  (or  said  to  have  been    seen,  he   corrected  himself) 
round  the  front  entrance,  and  once  at  an  upper  window." 

The  list  of  cases  cited  in  this  and  the  previous  paper,  while 
insufficient  (as  I  have  already  said)  to  compel  conviction,  is  striking 
enough  to  plead  for  serious  attention  to  a  subject  which  will  never  be 
properly  threshed  out  unless  the  interest  taken  in  it  assumes  a  scientific 
rather  than  an  emotional  form.  Considering  how  long  this  scattered 
belief  in  the  appearances  of  dead  persons  has  existed,  it  is  really  extra- 
ordinary that  so  little  trouble  should  have  been  taken  to  determine 
whether  that  belief  was  well-founded  or  no.  For  be  it  observed  that 
there  has  been  just  as  little  diligence,  just  as  little  acumen,  shown 
amongst  the  scoffers  as  amongst  the  credulous.  It  is  often  said  that 
"  ghost-stories  break  down  on  examination  ";  but  what  really  happens 
is,  not  that  the  inquirer  detects  fraud  or  mistake  in  the  story,  but  that 
the  story  is  both  presented  and  criticised  in  a  vague  and  careless  way, 
is  sifted  by  nobody,  and  sinks  or  swims  as  a  mere  matter  of  luck.  Mr. 
Gurney  was  in  the  habit  of  collecting  specimens  of  cases  sent  to 
ourselves  which  broke  down  on  his  inquiry.  These  contain  some 
curious  specimens  of  human  error ;  and  we  hope  some  time  to  offer 
some  of  them  to  the  public.  But  hardly  any  hints  of  value,  it  was 
found,  could  be  drawn  from  previous  destructive  criticisms,  which 
are  generally  of  the  most  superficial  kind.  In  fact,  so  far  as  any 
exact  investigation  goes,  the  present  subject  is  almost  absolutely 
new  ;  and  the  group  of  cases  now  presented — of  whose  evidential 
imperfections  I  am  thoroughly  aware — must  be  taken  as  a  vindemiatio 
prima,  or  mere  first  handful  from  an  ungarnered  field. 

Something  will  have  been  done,  I  hope,  to  encourage  the  quest  for 
further  evidence  if  I  am  thought  to  have  suggested  a  parallel  between 
the  now  known  modes  of  action  of  the  embodied  mind  and  the  possible 
modes  of  action  of  the  disembodied  mind,  which  may  at  least  enable  us 
to  see  something  logically  probable, — rather  than  something  grotesquely 
meaningless, — in  the  reported  behaviour  of  the  ordinary  apparition. 
Most  assuredly,  if  these  supernormal  phenomena  are  to  be  explained  at 
all,  they  must  be  explained  by  finding  some  laws  which  govern  at  once 
these  post-mortem,  manifestations  and  the  manifestations  of  spirits  still 
in  the  flesh.  Two  such  laws  I  believe  to  exist.  In  the  first  place,  I 
believe  that  telepathy — the  transference  of  thought  through  other  than 
sensory  channels — exists  both  as  between  embodied  spirits  and  as 
between  embodied  and  disembodied  spirits.  I  hold  that  there  is  a 
continuous  series  of  manifestations  of  such  power,  beginning  with 
thought-transference  experiments  and  hypnotism  at  a  distance,  pro- 
ceeding through  experimental  apparitions  and  apparitions  coincident 
with  crisis  or  death,  and  ending  with  apparitions  alter  ds&lV, — tih& 


64  On  Recognised  Apparitions  ocvwrrvng  [July  8, 

results,  in  my  view,  of  the  continued  exercise  of  the  same  energy  by 
the  spirits  of  the  departed. 

And  in  the  second  place  I  regard  it  as  analogically  probable 
that  the  thesis  of  multiplex  personality, — namely,  that  nd  known 
current  of  man's  consciousness  exhausts  his  whole  consciousness, 
and  no  known  self-manifestation  expresses  man's  whole  potential 
being, — may  hold  good  both  for  embodied  and  for  disembodied 
men.  And  consequently  I  believe  that  the  self-manifestations  of  the 
departed, — being  communications  between  states  of  being  almost 
impassably  disunited, — must  needs  form  an  extreme  type  of  those 
fugitive  and  unstable  communications  between  widely  different  strata 
of  personality  of  which  living  minds  offer  us  examples;  and  that 
"  ghosts  "  must  therefore  as  a  rule  represent — not  conscious  or  central 
currents  of  intelligence — but  mere  automatic  projections  from  con- 
sciousnesses which  have  their  centres  elsewhere. 

&  nwoi,  fj  pa  rii  tori  Koi  tlv  'At'&zo  &6poi<rip 
yjrvx^  kcu  €t8o>Xov,  arty)  <f>p4v€s  owe  evi  rra/xTrav- 

I  believe  that  the  simple,  primitive  cry  of  Achilles  is  the  direct 
expression  of  the  actual  observation  of  mankind.  "  There  is  some  soul 
and  wraith  even  in  Hades,"  as  Mr.  Leaf  translates,  "  but  there  is  no 
heart  in  them  ";  or,  in  modern  phraseology,  "  Influences  and  images 
generated  by  the  dead  persist  amongst  us,  but  have  no  true  initiative 
nor  objective  reality." 

Thus  much,  I  believe,  careful  observation  will  teach  us  moderns  also. 
What  further  deduction  we  may  draw  is  a  matter  for  philosophy  rather 
than  for  science.  In  Homer's  view  the  dead  men  themselves — in  the  only 
personality  worth  possessing — were  lying,  a  prey  to  dogs  and  to  every 
bird,  on  the  plain  of  Troy.  Plotinus,  on  the  other  hand,  could  not 
believe  that  the  automatic  self-glorifications,  the  fading  recollections  of 
"  Hades'  house,"  could  represent  the  true  personality  of  the  ascending 
soul.  "  The  shade  of  Herakl6s,"  he  said,  "might  boast  thus  to  shades; 
but  the  true  Herakles  for  all  this  cares  nought;  being  transported  into 
a  more  sacred  place,  and  strenuously  engaging,  even  above  his  strength, 
in  those  contests  in  which  the  wise  wish  to  engage." 

It  must  be  enough  thus  to  indicate  that  the  view  here  taken  of  the 
inadequacy  of  apparitions  as  a  true  means  of  communication  between 
the  dead  and  the  living  does  by  no  means  negative  any  belief  which  we 
may  hold  on  other  grounds  as  to  the  life  and  love  of  the  departed. 
The  present  need  is  not  of  speculation,  but  of  evidence ; — of  a  real 
direction  of  competent  intelligence  towards  the  collection  and  criticism 
of  a  far  larger  mass  of  well-attested  narratives  than  the  efforts  of  a  few—, 
men  during  a  few  years  have  succeeded  in  getting  together.  It  may 
Indeed  be  that  such  records  may  prove  explicable — I  can  scarcely  say 


».] 


More  than  a  Yew  after  Death. 


65 


by  known  laws — but  by  laws  whose  discovery  will  only  slightly  farther 
extend  our  experimental  psychology  in  some  of  the  directions  in  which 
it  is  now  rapidly  advancing.  Or  it  may  be  that  these  long  despised, 
long  neglected  narratives  will  prove  the  smooth  stones  from  the  brook, 
and  find  a  vulnerable  point  in  that  Goliath  of  our  inscrutable  Destiny, 
against  whom  so  many  prouder  weapons  have  been  levelled  in  vain. 


Y 


66  Further  Experiments  in  Hypnotic 


IV. 

FURTHER  EXPERIMENTS  IN  HYPNOTIC  LUCIDITY  OB 

CLAIRVOYANCE.1 

By  Professor  Charles  Richet. 

[This  translation  has  been  revised  by  the  Author,'] 

PART  I. 

Since  the  conclusion  of  the  experiments  recounted  in  Part  XIT.  of 
the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research  (pp.  18-168) — 
that  is  to  say,  since  the  month  of  March,  1888, — I  have  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  making  some  further  experiments  with  Leonie  B.,  the  same 
person  mentioned  in  Chapter  III.,  p.  31,  of  my  former  paper.  Then 
new  experiments  are,  in  my  view,  more  decisive  than  any  of  those 
which  I  have  detailed  in  the  above-mentioned  memoir. 

In  fact,  as  I  had  there  remarked,  the  earlier  experiments  were 
gravely  compromised  by  the  most  important  and  incontestable  fact  that 
when  playing  cards  were  used  there  was  no  lucidity.  "Here,"  I  said  in 
conclusion,  "we  have  a  fact  absolutely  negative,  which  must  inevitably 
cast  some  doubt  on  the  experiments  in  the  reproduction  of  diagrams." 
(p.  149.) 

When  the  subject  is  called  upon  to  divine  a  drawing,  a  name,  a 
malady,  an  incident  of  some  kind,  the  probability  of  a  right  or 
approximately  right  answer  is  hard  to  calculate.  To  take  an  example : 
What  is  the  probability  that,  given  a  drawing  such  as  Figure  66,  p.  99, 
a  reproduction  as  accurate  as  Figure  66  bis  will  be  obtained  tjj 
chance  alone  1  The  calculation  is  an  impossible  one.  One  can  only 
say  that  the  chance  of  such  reproduction  is  not  very  small. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  a  playing-card  is  used,  the  probability  ifl 
a  known,  a  measurable  quantity ;  as  measurable  as  any  fact  in  scienoo. 

If  I  put  the  queen  of  hearts,  without  knowing  myself  what  card  it 
is,  in  an  envelope,  and  am  told  that  the  queen  of  diamonds  is  in  the 
envelope,  I  can  calculate  all  the  probabilities  involved ;  the  chance 
that  a  queen  will  be  chosen  (j1^),  that  a  red  queen  will  be  chosen  (^ 
the  chance  that  the  card  chosen  will  not  be  the  queen  of  hearts  (||), 
that  it  will  not  be  a  heart  at  all  (f ),  &c,  &c.  All  this  is  a  matter  of 
simple  and  exact  computation. 

I  am  well  aware  that  objections  are  taken  to  this  method.   Persona 

1  Professor  Richet  uses  the  word  lucidiU. 


r 


*'  ;    Lucidity  or  Clairvoyance.  67 

t 

mfan*  ^he  doctrine  of  chances,  or  with  its  application  to  these 

problerik  .>\rf  Atain  that  these  figures  prove  nothing,  and  that  a  lucky 
ran  will  explain  all.  This  argument — which  I  am  surprised  to  note 
in  the  German  magazine  Sphinx1 — is  far  from  sound.  For  if  by 
experiment  one  obtains  a  result  antecedently  very  improbable,  it  is 
assuredly  permissible  to  conclude  that  something  besides  chance  has 
been  at  work.  Otherwise  one  would  never  come  to  any  conclusion  at 
all.  The  doctrine  of  chances,  in  fact,  is  at  the  bottom  of  all 
scientific  argument,  in  chemistry,  physics,  physiology  alike,  although 
masked  in  these  cases  by  the  predominant  importance  of  the  special 
conditions  of  each  experiment. 

A  chemist  seeking  to  determine  the  atomic  weight  of  potassium, 
and  obtaining  the  number  39  in  two  successive  experiments,  will  not 
set  the  result  aside  as  due  to  chance.  He  will  try  once  more  with 
increased  exactness,  and  if  he  again  obtains  39  he  will  accept  the 
result.  He  will  not  attribute  the  coincidence  of  the  three  numbers  to 
"a  lucky  run." 

If,  then,  I  obtain  a  series  of  concordant  results  whose  antecedent 
probability,  on  the  ground  of  chance  alone,  is  of  one  to  a  thousand 
millions,  I  shall  maintain  that  chance  does  not  explain  this ;  but  that 
either  lucidity  veritably  exists,  or  there  is  some  defect  in  the  method 
of  experimentation. 

And  this  may  be  advanced  with  the  more  confidence,  inasmuch  as 
the  alternative  between  lucidity  and  non-lucidity  is  in  these  experi- 
ments a  perfectly  distinct  one.  Up  till  now — if  you  will — lucidity  had 
neYer  been  clearly  proved  either  by  myself  or  by  anyone  else.  The 
experiment  was  still  to  be  made  ;  and  either  the  affirmative  or  the 
negative  view  could  still  be  maintained.  If,  then,  my  new  experiment 
is  indisputably  cogent  in  one  or  the  other  direction,  it  must  be  regarded 
as  deciding  the  question. 

Well,  in  the  series  of  experiments  which  I  shall  now  recount, 
lucidity  has  shown  itself  in  the  clearest  manner  ;  and,  so  far  as  the 
possibility  of  chance  is  concerned,  there  is  left  no  room  for  doubt. 

The  subject  on  whom  these  experiments  were  made  was  Leonie 
B.,  well-known  in  connection  with  the  celebrated  experiments  of 
M.  Gibert  and  M.  Pierre  Janet.2  I  need  not,  therefore,  insist  on 
the  special  characteristics  which  her  hypnotic  trance  presents. 

These  experiments  have  been,  for  my  part,  of  a  very  laborious 

1  Die  sogennanien  Spiritistisehen  Versuehe  des  Professors  Charles  Richet,  von  L. 
Knhlenbeck,  Sphinx,  September,  1888,  p.  177.    I  may  remark  that  the  author  does 
art  seem  to  have  taken  the  trouble  to  read  in  the  original  the  work  which  he 
criticises. 

*  See  Phantasms  of  the  Living,  Vol.  IL,  p.  679  seq  ,  and  Bulletins  de  la  SocUU  de 
Pqehologie  Physiologique,  1887,  passim. 

?5 


7  fr"! 

68  Further  Experiments  in  Hyjrhxotic 

character.  She  spent  two  months  and  a-half  in  my  houb 
September  11th,  1888).  As  I  could  keep  her  entranced  !_..  g 
without  injury  to  her — generally  during  the  night — I  have  repeat 
sat  by  her  side  from  8  p.m.  till  6  a.m.  For  it  was  not  in  the  earliest 
moments  of  her  trance  that  she  could  tell  the  cards  under  the  envelope, 
but  after  long  and  apparently  very  laborious  endeavour. 

The  manner  in  which  she  arrived  at  this  result  was  very  curious— 
possibly  very  instructive,  if  any  real  clue  to  the  process  can  be  found. 
She  held  the  envelope  between  her  hands,  and  then  drew  on  a  sheet  of 
paper  a  club,  a  heart,  a  diamond,  a  spade  ;  and  she  repeated  these 
drawings  over  and  over  again,  saying,  "  It  is  red,  black,  club,  heart," 
<bc.,  but  not  making  up  her  mind  to  a  definite  choice  till  after  a  long 
period  of  uncertainty.  This  period  of  guessing  was  still  longer  when  the 
exact  number  of  pips  on  the  card  was  to  be  told.  In  that  case  she 
counted  on  her  fingers,  repeating  the  process  again  and  again 
ad  nauseam. 

My  patience  was  thus  pretty  severely  tried.  To  wait  three,  four, 
or  five  hours  at  dead  of  night  till  a  card  is  named,  one  needs  a 
considerable  share  of  perseverance.  Had  it  been  my  intention — which 
Heaven  forbid  ! — to  submit  these  experiments  to  some  academic 
commission,  I  should  not  have  ventured  to  ask  of  anybody  whatever  to 
endure  seances  like  these,  often,  alas  !  completely  without  success.  To 
endure  such  stances,  one  must  be  directly  interested  in  the  experiment. 
An  onlooker  would  have  lost  patience  before  attaining  the  smallest 
result. 

Moreover,  during  all  this  time  she  never  ceased  talking  of  other 
things — asking  me  all  kinds  of  questions,  describing  the  episodes  of 
her  past  life,  expressing  a  kind  of  childish  affection  for  me— fall 
of  gaiety  and  mockery,  and  rapidly  catching  the  ridiculous  side  of 
everyone  whom  she  had  come  across, — talking,  in  short,  of  everything 
except  the  card  which  she  was  trying  to  tell.  "  She  was  waiting  for  it 
to  come,"  she  said,  and  suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  our  conversation,  she 
would  stop  and  name  a  card — then  begin  again  two  or  three  times  to 
talk  ;  and  it  was  only  at  the  end  of  all  this  that  she  settled  definitely 
what  card  she  would  name. 

It  is  clear,  I  think,  that  had  I  known  the  card  I  should  have  ended 
by  indicating  it  to  her  in  spite  of  myself.  From  weariness  or  inad- 
vertence, I  should  have  given  some  sign  which  would  have  betrayed  my 
thought.  I  believe,  indeed,  that  in  a  sitting  of  five  hours  I  could 
myself  manage  to  discover  any  card  known  to  the  experimenter,  merely 
by  aid  of  the  hints  which  his  exhaustion  might  allow  to  escape  him  in 
the  course  of  so  tedious  a  trial.  But,  as  the  case  actually  stood,  I  could 
reveal  nothing  to  Leonie,  for  I  was  myself  absolutely  ignorant  as  to 

it  the  card  in  the  envelope  might  be. 


Lucidity  or  Clairvoyance.  69 

n  my  previous  experiments,  the  card  was  taken  by  me  (at 

m  and  unse  n)  from  a  mixture  of  10  packs  of  52  cards  each ;  the 

a      Jer  of  packs  Ahus  admitting  of  the  recurrence  of  the  same  card 

ix  ^y^rai  times  running.     The  cards  which  had  once  been  used  were  not 

»>  "ployed  a  second  time.  I  pladed  the  card  in  an  opaque  envelope,  which 

I  closed  myself  completely  and  gave  to  Leonie.     When  she  had  decided 

on  the  card,  I  took  back  the  envelope ;  I  satisfied  myself  that  it  was 

intact,  and  I  opened  it,  and  took  the  card  out.     Sometimes  Leonie 

opened  the  envelope  herself  ;  but  I  had  always  first  satisfied  myself 

of  the  absolute  integrity  of  the  envelope — a  condition  without  which, 

as  I  assured  her,  the  experiment  could  not  count. 

These  envelopes,  called  opaques  in  trade,  were  in  fact  not  absolutely 
opaque.  They  were  sufficiently  so,  however,  entirely  to  prevent  the 
colour  of  pips  from  being  discerned  by  transmitted  light,  whatever 
the  source  of  illumination.  I  succeeded,  with  great  difficulty,  and 
after  efforts  which  lasted  some  minutes,  by  placing  the  card  in 
full  sunshine  or  in  the  light  of  a  powerful  lamp,  in  seeing  the 
pips  and  colour  of  the  card  by  reflected  light.  But  Leonie  never 
acted  in  this  way.  She  made  no  effort  to  look  at  the  card,  but 
contented  herself  with  feeling  it  between  her  fingers,  and  crumpling 
the  envelope  in  her  hand,  scribbling,  meantime,  upon  the  envelope  itself 
her  interminable  scrawls,  representing  club,  spade,  heart,  and  diamond. 
She  remained,  moreover,  almost  constantly  in  a  dim  light,  at  some 
distance  from  my  armchair,  and  never  tried  to  hold  the  card  in  the 
light  of  the  lamp. 

Furthermore,  in  order  to  preclude  all  possibility  of  ordinary,  even 
hypersesthetic  sight,  from  the  experiments  of  July  22nd  onwards,  I 
placed  the  card  and  envelope  in  a  second  opaque  envelope,  so  that  the 
two  superimposed  opacities  rendered  the  card  absolutely  invisible  to 
the  sight  of  normal  people.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  precaution  in  no 
way  modified  the  success  of  the  experiment.1 

1  I  made  several  experiments  on  diagrams  with  Leonie.  Some  of  these  succeeded 
better  than  any  of  those  which  I  recounted  in  my  last  memoir,  but  I  do  not  mention 
them  here,  for  I  wish  to  confine  myself  to  matter  of  absolute  proof,  and  I  do  not  think 
that  experiments  with  diagrams  have  the  same  demonstrative  force  as  experiments 
with  cards,  where  the  chances  are  exactly  known.  I  will  mention  one  observation 
alone ;  a  remarkable  instance  either  of  thought-transference,  or,  as  I  am  strongly  in- 
clined to  suppose,  of  lucidity. 

On  Monday,  July  2nd,  after  having  passed  all  the  day  in  my  laboratory,  I 
hypnotised  Leonie  at  8  p.m.,  and  while  she  tried  to  make  out  a  diagram  concealed  in 
an  envelope  I  said  to  her  quite  suddenly:  "What  has  happened  to  M.  Langlois?" 
L&mie  knows  M.  Langlois  from  having  seen  him  two  or  three  times  some  time  ago  in 
my  physiological  laboratory,  where  he  acts  as  my  assistant.  "  He  has  burnt  himself," 
Leonie  replied.     " Good,"  I  said,  " and  where  has  he  burnt  himself  ? "    "On  the  left 

hand.    It  is  not  fire :  it  is I  don't  know  its  name.    Why  does  he  not  take  care 

when  he  pours  it  out?"    "Of  what  colour,"  I  asked,  "is  the  atuft  vrtvicto.  \\fc\Ks\ara 


70 


Further  Experiments  in  HypnoHc 


Record  of  the  Experiments. — This  record  of  experiments  consists 
entirely  of  a  conspectus  of  the  cards  as  guessed  by  7\jk>nie.  To  this  I 
subjoin  a  conspectus  of  the  results  actually  given  by  chance  alone  in 
an  identical  series  of  drawings.  The  table  explains  itself.  I  have,  tf 
course,  neglected  the  guesses  made  by  Leonie  in  the  course  of  her 
groping  search,  and  have  counted  the  final  guess  alone. 

First  Series. 
Card  in  an  Opaque  Envelope. 

H  stands  for  hearts,  D  for  diamonds,  &c. ;  K  f  or  king,  &e.    F  means  figure  or  court- 
card,  when  the  special  court-card  is  not  stated. 


6  x 

Date. 

Card 
in 

Card 

guessed 

by 
Leonie. 

Card 
drawn  at 

Remarks. 

£« 

Envelope. 

hazard. 

1 

July  15 

4H 

H 

9H 

2 

,f 

10  H 

D 

3H 

3 

July  16 

10  H 

EH 

2D 

4 

»» 

QH 

H 

.10 

5 

,, 

8S 

S 

2S 

6 

,» 

2D 

C 

7H 

7 

July  18 

KnC 

C 

QH 

8 

,, 

90 

C 

6H 

9 

»» 

5H 

C 

30 

She  had  guessed  hearts  all  the 
time,  but  said  club  at  the  last 
moment. 

10 

j» 

KnD 

F  D 

5H 

11 

,, 

8H 

H 

9H 

12 

July  19 

1C 

S 

6S 

Here  again  she  guessed  clubs  tOl 
the  last. 

13 

j » 

5C 

C 

4D 

14 

»» 

30 

D 

QS 

15 

»» 

KB 

KB 

8D 

16 

»» 

3D 

D 

5H 

17 

»» 

10  0 

S 

IS 

18 

»» 

6  S 

H 

10C 

out  ?  "    **  It  is  not  red,  it  is  brown ;  he  has  hurt  himself  very  much — the  skin  puffed 
up  directly." 

Now,  this  description  is  admirably  exact.  At  4  p.m.  that  day  M.  Langlois  had 
wished  to  pour  some  bromine  into  a  bottle.  He  had  done  this  clumsily,  so  that  some 
of  the  bromine  flowed  on  to  his  left  hand,  which  held  the  funnel,  and  at  once  burnt 
him  severely.  Although  he  at  once  put  his  hand  in  water,  wherever  the  bromine  had 
touched  it  a  blister  was  formed  in  a  few  seconds— a  blister  which  one  could  not  better 
describe  than  by  saying,  "  the  skin  puffed  up."  I  need  not  say  that  Leonie  had  not 
left  my  house,  nor  seen  anyone  from  my  laboratory.  Of  this  I  am  absolutely  certain, 
and  I  am  certain  that  I  had  not  mentioned  the  incident  of  the  burn  to  anybody.  More- 
over, this  was  the  first  time  for  nearly  a  year  that  M.  Langlois  had  handled  bromine, 
and  when  Leonie  saw  him  six  months  before  at  the  laboratory  he  was  engaged  in 
experiments  of  quite  another  kind.  Of  course,  I  give  here  all  the  words  I  used,  and 
only  the  words  I  used,  when  I  interrogated  Leonie. 

Decisive  though  this  observation  was,  I  should  find  it  very  hard  to  estimate  the 
probability  of  a  correct  guess.  I  think  the  incident  a  very  important  one;  but  I 
prefer  the  cases  now  to  be  detailed,  where  the  probability  is  exactly  measurable. 


Lucidity  or  Clairvoyance. 


71 


Date. 

Card 
in 

Card 
guessed 

by 
Leonie. 

Card 
drawn  at 

RAftarkf, 

Envelope. 

hazard. 

July  19 

KD 

0 

4H 

> 

I  opened  envelope  and  looked  at 
card   unseen  by  her;   asked 

what  it  was.     "It  is  not  a 

club/'  she  answered,    "it  is 

the  queen  of  diamonds." 

99 

38 

8 

10  H 

July  20 

7C 

C 

28 

19 

K8 

c 

78 

Said  spades  till  the  last. 

99 

10  H 

0 

5D 

99 

1C 

1C 

KC 

99 

9D 

0 

50 

Said  diamonds  till  the  last. 

19 

Q  S 

FS 

QS 

99 

4C 

c 

10  H 

July  21 

KS 

H 

1H 

99 

58 

S 

8D 

There  were  by  accident  two  cards 
in  the  envelope,  of  which  one 
was  5  8. 

99 

8D 

H 

8C 

99 

10  H 

H 

QS 

99 

7C 

H 

5H 

99 

2C 

H 

2H 

)9 

AD 

S 

KC 

99 

1H 

1H 

6C 

99 

48 

C 

3D 

99 

3H 

D 

QD 

99 

QO 

H 

3H 

July  22 

KnC 

KnS 

QH 

Experiments  of  July  22  made  in 
presence  of  fli.  R.  Alexandre. 

99 

7H 

H 

88 

99 

KC 

KC 

1C 

,, 

2D 

2D 

9H 

,, 

9H 

0 

38 

Said  hearts  till  the  last. 

99 

*n 

4D 

2D 

9» 

KH 

KH 

QS 

Second  Series  of  Experiments. 
Cards    with    Two    Opaque    Envelopes. 


Date. 

Card 

in 

Envelope. 

Card 
guessed 

by. 

Leonie. 

Card 

drawn  at 

hazard. 

Remarks. 

July  22 
July  23 
July  24 

98 

KnS 

98 

D 
H 

S 

3C 
3D 
98 

K  C 

Violent  storm,  which  made  hor 

very  ill. 
Experiments  of  July  24  made  in 

presence  of  M.  P.  Langlois. 

Further  Experiments  mi  Hypnotic 


*i 

Card 

Card 

guessed 

by 

Card 

Remarks. 

& 

Envelope 

hazard. 

BO 

Jnly  24 

1  C 

i  C 

5H 

:.| 

7D 

D 

9H 

uss 

QS 

D 

K8 

A» 

68 

D 

KnH 

M 

2S 

D 

68 

A5 

QH 

QD 

IS 

M 

10  £ 

ion 

10  D 

67 

July  25 

K  0 

KG 

KnD 

Experiments  of  July  25  in  pra- 
ctice of  M.  E.  Guiard.      In 
Experiment  57  M.  Guiard  had 
seen  the  card  before  ho  placed 
it  in  the  envelope. 

BK 

10  s 

D 

IOC 

RSI 

«H 

D 

4H 

M) 

9D 

9D 

7D 

61 

July  26 

QD 

C 

KnC 

Third  Series  op  Experiments. 
Card*  toith  Two  Envelope*  and  a  Freth  Pack.1 


It 

Card 

Card 
T  by" 

Card 

Envelope. 

hazard. 

m 

July  26 

48 

S 

7S 

EnH 

H 

SS 

G4 

July  30 

QD 

S 

KnD 

Experiments  made  in  the  pre- 
sence of  Dr.  J.  Hencourt. 

nn 

QH 

H 

40 

66 

■■ 

80 

C 

KnD 

She  counted  10,  and  said,  "  It  U 
whiter  than  a  10." 

67 

48 

H 

IS 

68 

KS 

S 

BH 

Discussion  and  Calculation  Based  on  these  Experiments. 

In  undertaking  the  discussion  of  these  68  experiments  we  at  once 
perceive  that  we  must  divide  them  into  two  parts.  In  the  first  place, 
we  have  one  set  in  which  the  card  was  told  completely,  pips,  suit,  and 
colour,  and  another  set  in  which  only  the  suit  was  told.  But  let  us 
begin  by  examining  the  whole  group  of  the  experiments ;  we  shall 
then  see  what  are  the  lines  of  division  which  we  most  draw  between 
them. 

In  these  GS  experiments  the  antecedently  probable  number  of 
cards  told  completely  right  will  be  either  one  or  two ;  the  probable 

'  I  wished  to  try  the  same  experiment  with  a  completely  new  pack. 


Lucidity  or  Clavrvoyance. 


73 


number  of  suits  rightly  named  will  be  17,  and  the  probable  number  of 
colours  rightly  named  34. 

We  may  compare  these  numbers  with  the  cards  actually  drawn  at 
hazard,  and  then  with  the  cards  guessed  by  Leonie. 

A. — Cards  entirely  right. 

Antecedent  probability      

By  actual  chance-drawing 

Guessed  by  Leonie 

B. — Cards  with  suit  right. 

Antecedent  probability      , 

By  actual  chance-drawing , 

Guessed  by  Leonie , 

0. — Cards  with  colour  right. 

Antecedent  probability      , 

By  actual  chance-drawing 

Guessed  by  Leonie 

It  will  be  seen  that  under  each  of  these  three  categories  there  was 
a  notable  excess  of  actual  successes  over  the  antecedent  probabilities, 
and  that  this  excess  was  more  marked  in  proportion  as  the  antecedent 
probability  was  smaller.  The  result  of  actual  chance-drawing  will  be 
seen  to  have  corresponded  pretty  closely  to  the  theoretic  probabilities. 

If  we  consider  the  numbers  day  by  day  we  shall  see  that  almost 
every  day  there  was  a  marked  excess  of  successes.  Let  us  take  the 
indication  of  suits  alone. 


1  or  2 
1 
12 


17 
19 
36 

34 
38 
46 


Number 

Suits 

Suits 

Suits  likely 

to  be  drawn 

right  by  theory 

of  chances. 

Day.        ] 

Date. 

of 
Drawings. 

guessed 
right. 

drawn 
right. 

1      Ju 

ilylS 

2 

1 

2 

0*5 

2         , 

,     16 

4 

3 

1 

1 

3        , 

,     18 

5 

4 

1 

1-26 

4        , 

,     19 

9 

4 

1 

2  26 

5 

,     20 

7 

4 

3 

175 

6 

,     21 

11 

3 

0 

2  75 

7 

,     22 

9 

6 

4 

2*25 

3 

,    23 

1 

0 

1 

0  25 

9       , 

,     24 

8 

4 

2 

2 

10        , 

,     25 

4 

2 

2 

1 

11 

>    28 

3 

2 

1 

0  75 

12 

,    30 

3 

2 

2 

0-75 

13     Ai 

ig.   2 

2 

1 

1 

0  50 

Among  these  13  days  of  experimentation  we  find  once  only  an  excess 
of  the  theoretical  number  over  the  cards  guessed  by  Leonie.  And  on 
that  day  only  one  card  was  tried,  Leonie  being  extremely  ill.  The 
actual  chance-drawing  twice  shows  an  excess  over  Leonie's  successes,  is 
twice  equal,  and  on  the  other  nine  days  is  inferior. 


74 


Further  Experiments  in  Hypnotic 


It  will  be  seen  also  that  (1)  the  interposition  of  a  second  envelope, 
and  (2)  the  employment  of  a  new  pack  of  cards  did  not  apparently 
modify  Leonie's  lucidity.  In  the  first  series  (one  envelope)  in  45  trail 
we  find  7  cards  told  completely  right,  and  23  with  suit  right — the 
theoretic  numbers  being  1  and  11.  In  the  second  series  (two  opaqoe 
envelopes)  in  16  trials  we  find  5  cards  were  told  completely  right, 
and  7  cards  with  suit  right — the  theoretic  numbers  being  0  and  4. 
In  the  third  series  (fresh  pack  of  cards  and  two  opaque  envelope!) 
in  seven  trials  we  find  5  cards  with  suit  told  rightly — the  theoretic 
number  being  2. 

By  a  rough  calculation,  the  probability  that  in  68  trials  then 
will  be  36  successes  at  least  in  guessing  the  suit  is  found  to  be  lew 
than  . — — 

100,000' 

Returning  to  what  has  been  already  said,  we  see  at  once  that  these 
trials  must  be  divided  into  two  groups.  In  the  first  group  come  the 
trials  where  the  card  guessed  was  completely  described  (pips,  suit*  and 
colour) ;  in  the  second  group  come  the  cases  where  the  suit  alone  was 
guessed. 

It  is  remarkable  in  how  large  a  proportion  of  those  cases  in  which 
Leonie  described  the  guessed  card  completely,  the  description  was 
completely  right. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  cases  where  the  guessed  card  was 
completely,  or  nearly  completely  described  : — 


True  Card. 

( 

3ard  Described. 

1 

9  •  • 

10  H 

•  •  • 

... 

KH 

2 

i  •  • 

•  ft  • 

KnD 

•  •  • 

... 

FD 

3 

•  ft                               4 

•  • 

KD 

•  •• 

... 

KD 

4 

1  •  ft 

1  •  • 

1C 

•  •  • 

... 

1C 

5 

»  •  • 

1  •  • 

QS 

•  •  • 

... 

FS 

6 

>  •  ft 

1  •  ft 

1H 

•  •  • 

..a 

1H 

7 

1  •  • 

»  •  • 

KnH 

•  •  • 

... 

KnS 

8 

1  •  • 

1  •  • 

KC 

•  •  • 

•  .  « 

KC 

9 

•   •  • 

•  •  • 

2D 

•  •  • 

... 

2D 

10 

•  •                               4 

•  • 

4D 

•  •  • 

... 

4D 

11 

•  • 

1  •  • 

K  H 

•  •  • 

•  •  . 

K  H 

12 

»  ft  •                               « 

•  • 

QD 

«  •  • 

•  •  . 

QD 

13 

•  •                               1 

•  • 

1C 

•  •  • 

... 

1C 

14 

•  •                                • 

•  • 

QH 

•  •  • 

... 

QD 

15 

•   ■  ft 

1  •  • 

10  H 

*  •  • 

•  •  . 

10  H 

16 

1  •  • 

1  •  ft 

KC 

•  •  • 

... 

KC 

17 

ft   •  ft 

ft   •  ft 

9D 

•  •  • 

... 

9D 

Thus  in  68  trials  Leon 

ie  only  17  times  offered 

a  full  description,  and 

of    these    descriptions  tl 

lere 

were    two   where 

the  description    was 

incomplete — "  court-card 

in 

diamonds 

"  for 

knave  of  diamonds,  and 

"  court-card  in  spades  "  fc 

>r  queen  of  spades — an  ' 

incompleteness  which 

assuredly  ought  no 

>t  to  < 

3ount  as  an  error. 

But  let  us  set  aside  these 

Lucidity  or  Clairvoyance.  75 

incomplete  descriptions,  and  consider  only  the  15  complete  ones, 
find  that  in  15  cards  completely  described  there  were  three  errors. 
1  these  errors  were  only  partial  ;  king  of  hearts  for  10  of  hearts  : 
re  of  spades  for  knave  of  hearts  ;  queen  of  diamonds  for  queen  of 
ts. 

Sow  the  antecedent  probability  of  a  completely  correct  description 
r ;  and  if  we  calculate  the  probability  of  correctly  describing  12 
s  out  of  15  we  arrive  at  a  fraction  so  small  as  to  leave  us  a  moral 
itude  that  chance  alone  cannot  have  brought  about  such  a  result, 
rhis  probability  is  approximately  1  in  1,000,000,000,000,000,000. 
[t  seems  to  me,  then,  to  be  needless  to  insist  further  that  chance  is 
here  the  agent.  It  is  not  chance,  it  is  something  else ;  what  else 
Dust  presently  try  to  determine. 

Bat  first  let  us  see  what  is  to  be  made  of  the  other  experiments  if 
diminate  these  17  trials.  Fifty-one  trials  remain,  in  which  Leonie 
the  suit  right  21  times;  whereas  the  probable  number  was  13. 
chance  of  telling  the  suit  right  21  times  in  51  trials  is  small ;  but 
Ear  greater  than  the  chances  with  which  we  have  just  been  dealing. 
;  result  alone  would  not  suffice  to  establish  Leonie's  lucidity.  It 
es,  however,  that  even  when  the  best  experiments  are  omitted,  she 
replied  with  more  accuracy  than  chance-drawings  actually  gave, 
beoretically  should  give. 

But  there  is  a  wide  difference  between  these  51  trials  where  the 
plete  description  of  the  card  was  not  given,  and  the  1 7  trials  where 
xls  given.  Taking  the  suit  alone  (chance  of  rightness  £)  we  find, 
be  first  group  of  51,  21  successes;  in  the  second  group  of  17,  15 
esses.  The  chance  of  15  successes  in  1 7  trials  is  roughly  1  in  10,000,000. 
all  not  dwell  further  on  the  hypothesis  of  chance,  which  seems  to 
ibsurd.     It  is  not  chance  which  can  give  the  right  card  1 2  times 

Since,  then,  the  hypothesis  of  chance  must  be  rejected,  we  need  to 
tinise  the  conditions  of  the  experiments.  In  the  first  place  it  is 
i  that  thought-transference  (suggestion  mentale)  cannot  be 
ked  as  an  explanation.  Only  in  two  cases  (Experiments  57  and  19) 
such  transference  possible.  In  Experiment  57  my  friend  M.  E. 
ird  had  looked  at  the  card  before  he  placed  it  in  the  envelope.  He 
ained  from  giving  any  indication,  and  contented  himself  with 
rering,  "  Right !  "  when  Leonie  said,  "  It  is  the  king  of  clubs." 
'n  Experiment  19,  after  Leonie  had  said  erroneously,  "It  is  a 
,"  I  looked  at  the  card  and  saw  that  it  was  a  king  of  diamonds. 
i  absolutely  certain  that  she  could  not  see  the  card  while  I  looked 

See  p.  151  in  Proceedings  XII.    In  the  433  trials  recounted  in  my  previous 
'  there  were  only  six  cards  fully  described. 


76  Further  Experiments  in  Hypnotic 

at  it.  She  then  said,  "  It  is  the  queen  of  diamonds,"  without  any 
indication  on  my  part  further  than  by  telling  her  that  it  was  not  ft 
club.     (This  experiment  has,  of  course,  been  counted  as  a  failure.) 

The  examination  of  the  cards  of  which  a  full  description  was  given, 
shows  an  interesting  peculiarity.  They  were  mainly  court-cards  and 
aces.  Among  the  17  fully-described  cards,  while  the  proportion  given 
by  chance  would  have  been  5  or  6  court-cards  and  aces,  there  were  in 
fact  13.    She  seems  then  to  see  court-cards  better  than  cards  with  jape. 

We  come  now  to  the  delicate  and  difficult  question :  Was  her 
success  due  to  some  defect  in  the  experimentation  ? 

My  mode  of  procedure  was  as  follows  :  From  the  midst  of  10  packs 
of  52  cards  each,  I  drew  at  hazard  a  card  which  I  placed  in  an  opaque 
envelope.  I  did  this  in  low  light  at  one  end  of  my  library,  which  ii 
nearly  five  metres  in  length,  Leonie  sitting  at  the  opposite  end,  with 
her  back  turned  to  me.  Moreover,  I  drew  the  card  very  rapidly,  so 
that  in  order  to  see  it  it  would  have  been  necessary  (1)  to  lie  on  the 
floor  in  front  of  me  ;  (2)  to  bring  the  lamp  and  set  it  on  the  floor.  It 
is  then  absolutely  (I  say  absolutely)  impossible  that  the  card  could  have 
been  seen  at  the  moment  when  I  put  it  in  the  envelope.  The  envelope 
was  gummed,  and  I  closed  it  at  once.  Certainly,  during  an  experiment 
which  sometimes  lasted  two  or  three  hours,  I  occasionally  took  my  eyes 
off  the  subject  for  some  instants ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  open  a  gummed 
envelope  in  a  few  instants — water  and  minute  care  are  needed — 
without  leaving  some  trace.  At  the  moment  when  I  was  about  to 
open  the  envelope  I  rigorously  observed  that  it  was  the  same 
envelope,  that  it  had  no  tear  in  it,  and  that  the  fastening  was 
absolutely  intact.  Consequently  the  envelope  had  not  been 
opened,  and  it  was  the  same  envelope.  The  name  of  the  card 
indicated  by  Leonie  was  written  by  her  in  full,  or  written  by  me, 
before  the  envelope  was  opened ;  and,  moreover,  I  kept  an  exact — a 
religiously  exact — account  of  all  the  experiments  made ;  so  that  the 
15  experiments,  with  12  successes,  must  be  regarded  as  the  exact 
number.  No  conscious  or  unconscious,  mental  or  non-mental  sugges- 
tion could  be  made  by  me,  since  I  was  totally  ignorant  of  the  card 
placed  in  the  envelope. 

At  the  moment  when  the  envelope  was  opened  my  eyes  did  not 
quit  the  card  which  Leonie  drew  from  the  envelope  till  the  moment 
when  I  had  recognised  what  it  was.  Often  I  withdrew  the  card  myself, 
in  which  case  no  trickery  was  possible.  Unfortunately,  in  some  cases, 
which  I  have  very  wrongly  omitted  to  note,  Leonie,  as  I  have  said, 
withdrew  the  card  herself.  I  followed  it  with  my  eyes  carefully  when 
she  did  not  show  it  to  me  immediately,  and  I  am  sure  that  it  was  in 
fact  the  card  withdrawn  from  the  envelope  which  she  showed  me.  Still, 
this  is  a  small  flaw  in  my  method,  necessitating,  to  my  great  regret,  a 


Lucidity  or  Clairvoyance.  77 

certain  reserve  in  my  expressions  of  absolute  certitude.  The  reader, 
doubtless,  will  consider  my  scruples  as  exaggerated  ;  for  it  is  absurd  to 
assume  in  Leonie  a  manual  skill  greater  than  that  of  the  most  accom- 
plished conjurer.  To  make  the  card  in  the  envelope  disappear,  and  to 
replace  it  by  another  at  25  centimetres  from  me, — that  is  all  but 
impossible ;  and  if  I  give  expression  to  this  objection  it  is  not  that  I 
suppose  that  Leonie  could  have  tricked  me  in  these  experiments,  but 
because  I  desire  to  suggest  against  myself  all  the  objections  which  can 
possibly  be  made.  This  objection,  then,  seems  to  me  to  have  little  force, 
for  the  following  reasons  : — 

1.  Because  the  good  faith  of  Leonie  was  almost  always  complete. 
(On  this  point  a  special  discussion  will  be  needed.) 

2.  Because  in  many  cases — half  at  least  of  the  cases — it  would  have 
been  absolutely  impossible  for  her  to  use  any  trickery. 

3.  Because  it  would  be  necessary  to  credit  her  with  an  incredible 
skill  in  prestidigitation,  of  which  she  certainly  is  quite  devoid.  She 
barely  knows  the  names  of  the  cards. 

We  come,  then,  to  the  question  of  Leonie's  good  faith.  I  need  not 
say  that  I  am  not  speaking  of  simulation  of  the  hypnotic  trance.  This 
she  does  not  and  cannot  simulate.  But  there  is  in  her  a  double 
existence.  She  is  Leonie  when  she  is  awake,  and  Leontine  when  she 
is  entranced.  Leonie  and  Leontine  are  two  quite  distinct  personages  ; 
and  assuredly  Leontine  does  not  simulate  the  trance ;  her  entranced 
state  is  as  real  as  Leonie's  waking  state. 

But  this  Leontine  has  a  very  active  and  definite  character  of  her 
own.  She  has  tastes,  affections,  memories,  which  have  created  for  her 
a  real  personality.  It  would  then  be  quite  possible  that  there  should 
be,  not  indeed  simulation '  of  the  trance,  but  trickery  in  the  trance, 
which  is  a  very  different  thing.  The  question  is  :  Is  Leontine  capable 
of  deceiving  me  1 

To  my  great  regret  she  w  so  capable.  I  am  obliged  to  state  that  I 
have  once  caught  her  actually  cheating  me ; 1  and  this,  in  fact,  is  the 

1  The  way  in  which  Leontine  cheated,  during  one  of  those  states  of  unconsciousness 
of  which  I  spoke  above,  was  this :  I  had  drawn  a  card  and  marked  it,  without  seeing  it, 
and  taken  it  into  the  next  room.  Then  I  told  her  to  try  to  guess  it.  She  said  10  of  spades. 
Now  the  card  that  I  had  taken  into  the  next  room  was  really  a  king  of  hearts,  which 
I  found  the  next  day  with  the  mark  that  I  had  made  on  it.  That  is  what  Leonie's 
trickery  consists  in.  I  say  nothing  about  the  cards  enclosed  in  an  envelope,  which  are 
left  with  her  so  that  she  may  guess  them  in  the  course  of  the  day  or  night,  for,  in  this 
case,  there  is  no  doubt  that,  in  an  unconscious  interval,  she  opens  the  envelope  to  look 
at  the  card  and  then  puts  it  back  at  once  very  carefully  into  the  envelope.  The 
personality  which  carries  on  all  these  operations  does  so  without  either  Leonie  or 
Leontine  knowing  anything  about  it,  and  Leonie,  in  the  utmost  good  faith,  thinks 
that  she  has  made  a  right  guess  about  the  card  which  she  claims  never  to  have  seen. 
I  therefore  consider  as  reliable  experiments  only  those  in  which  I  have  been  able  to 
watch  Leonie  all  the  time. 


78  Further  ExperiTnents  in  Hypnotic 

reason  which  prevents  me  from  citing  a  series  of  experiments  made 
later,  from  August  2nd  to  September  10th,  and  intended  to  exclude  the 
hypothesis  of  hyperesthesia  of  touch  or  sight  — for  in  these  experiments 
trickery  was  possible,  while  it  was  not  possible  in  the  earlier  ones.  Bat 
a  fraud  of  Leontine's  is  not  the  same  thing  as  a  fraud  of  an  ordinary 
person,  on  account  of  the  complexity  of  Madame  B.'s  constitution. 
We  have,  as  already  said,  Leonie,  the  waking  personage,  Leontine,  the 
entranced  personage,  and  moreover  Leonora,  a  different  personage, 
whose  somnambulism  is  extremely  profound,  and  on  whom  M.  Perrier, 
and  afterwards  M.  Janet,  have  made  some  instructive  experiments. 
Besides  these  three  different  personalities,  characterised  by  memorial 
special  to  each,  there  are  others  also — Leonora,  let  us  say,  for 
instance — corresponding  to  Madame  B.'s  condition  of  spontaneous 
somnambulism  during  normal  sleep,1  and  perhaps  other  states  of 
consciousness,  of  which  we  have  no  knowledge. 

Thus  Leontine  sometimes  performs  actions  of  which  she  retains  no 
recollection.  She  writes  whole  phrases  without  knowing  that  she 
has  written  them.  M.  Pierre  Janet  has  taught  her  to  do  this; 
so  that  I  should  be  tempted  to  believe  that  if  there  has  been  fraud  on 
Leontine's  part,  that  fraud  has  been  unconscious.  This  distinction  is 
important  from  a  moral  point  of  view ;  but  from  our  present  experi- 
mental standpoint  it  ought  to  inspire  us  with  a  great  distrust,  a 
marked  prudence  in  our  conclusions.  I  only  insist,  therefore,  on  the 
15  experiments  above  given,  because  I  am  certain  that  no  conjurer, 
however  accomplished,  could  have  told  me  the  12  cards  which  Leonie 
did  actually  tell  me. 

PART  II. 

The  experiments  described  above  were  made  in  June  and  July* 
1888.  They  did  not  completely  satisfy  either  my  friends  or  me ;  in. 
fact,  though  they  are  conclusive  against  the  hypothesis  of  chance,  they 
do  not  show  in  an  absolutely  irrefutable  manner  that  there  is  not  some 
sort  of  extraordinary  visual  (retinal)  acuity,  and,  moreover,  they  leave 
a  not  altogether  negligible  place  for  the  hypothesis  of  trickery. 

It  was  necessary  therefore  to  try  to  meet  this  two-fold  objection, 
and,  on  this  account,  I  tried  two  new  series  of  experiments  with 
Leonie. 

The  defective  points  in  the  former  experiments  are : — 

(a)  Leontine  may  change  the  envelope  that  I  give  her  containing 
the  card  to  be  guessed,  and,  having  with  her  an  envelope  containing  a 
similar  card,  may  present  it  to  me  as  if  it  were  the  envelope  that  I 
had  given  her. 

i  Ordinary  nomenclature  is  quite  inadequate  to  represent  these  different 


Lucidity  or  Clairvoyance.  79 

• 

(b)  Leontine  may  open  the  envelope  that  I  give  her,  take  the 
card  out,  look  at  it,  shut  up  the  envelope  again  and  pretend  to  have 
guessed  it.  '; 

(c)  Leontine  may  hide  a  card  in  her  hand,  and,  when  she  opens 
the  envelope  herself,  may  give  it  to  me  as  the  one  guessed. 

I  have  already  explained  that  these  three  objections  are  not,  in  my 
opinion,  valid,  for 

(1)  I  hardly  took  my  eyes  off  L.  from  the  moment  when  I  gave 
her  the  envelope,  and  there  was  never  any  suspicious  gesture,  as  if 
she  were  attempting  to  unfasten  the  two  superposed  envelopes.  One 
knows  how  difficult  it  is  to  unfasten  a  gummed  envelope. 

(2)  The  envelope  that  I  gave  her  was  almost  (but  not  quite) 
always  marked,  so  that  the  substitution  of  another  for  it  was  im- 
possible. 

(3)  From  the  moment  when  L.  opened  the  envelope,  I  absolutely 
never  took  my  eyes  off  the  card  that  she  took  out  of  it,  and,  in  some 
cases,  I  opened  the  envelope  myself. 

But  although  these  objections  do  not  seem  to  me  to  have  much 
force,  the  fact  of  their  being  raised  demands  for  them  a  complete 
refutation.     I  therefore  took  the  following  precautions  : — 

(1)  The  selected  card  was  marked,  and  I  kept  in  my  pocket  the 
ten  packs  of  cards  from  which  I  had  taken  it. 

(2)  The  envelope  in  which  the  card  was  put  was  sealed  with 
sealing-wax  and  had  a  special  mark. 

(3)  I  opened  the  envelope  myself,  and,  when  once  Leonie  had 
designated  the  card,  she  touched  neither  it  nor  the  envelope. 

These  precautions  are  such  that  no  conjurer  could  find  satisfactory 
objections  to  them. 

I  made  two  series  of  experiments  with  Leonie ;  the  first  in  Mr. 
Myers'  house  at  Cambridge  from  Thursday,  January  31st,  to  February 
15th,  1889.  This  series  failed  completely,  which  seems  to  happen  when 
the  series  of  experiments  is  not  sufficiently  prolonged.  Thus,  for  the 
cards  of  the  first  part — the  first  experiment  was  on  July  10th.  But  I 
had  hypnotised  Leonie  at  intervals  since  May  20th,  that  is,  for  a  month 
and  a  half. 

The  last  series  of  experiments  was  carried  out  at  my  house  in  Paris, 
from  July  12th  to  August  26th,  under  the  conditions  described  above, 
the  only  difference  being  that,  having  no  more  " opaque"  envelopes,  I 
used  some  which  are  not  opaque  to  transmitted  light  and  the  card  in 
the  envelope  was  then  enclosed  in  a  second  envelope,  so  that  each  card 
was  in  a  double  envelope.  Of  course  I  satisfied  myself  that  the  card 
thus  enclosed  was  absolutely  invisible  to  our  normal  eyes. 


80 


Further  Experiments  in  Hypnotic 


This  series  of  experiments:  is  tabulated  below,  with   the  same 
arrangement  as  before. 


6  m 

Date. 

Card 
in 

Card 
guessed 

by. 

Leonie 

Card 
drawn  at 

Remarks. 

8§« 

Envelope. 

hazard. 

1 

July  13 

2S 

H 

QS 

2 

99 

9H 

S 

2D 

3 

99 

4H 

D 

3S 

(A  small  card,  that  is,  2, 3, 4  or  5,) 
She  wrote  C. 

4 

July  14 

6C 

S 

9H 

5 

99 

10  D 

c 

AC 

She  wrote  D. 

6 

9* 

10  D 

c 

8S 

7 

99 

QD 

c 

QH 

She  wrote  C. 

8 

July  15 

KH 

c 

3H 

9 

99 

IOC 

H 

QD 

10 

99 

9D 

s 

3D 

11 

July  17 

8C 

s 

6C 

She  wrote  C. 

12 

99 

7D 

c 

K0 

13 

July  18 

8H 

c 

2H 

She  wrote  H. 

14 

99 

30 

H 

5H 

She  wrote  C. 

15 

99 

5S 

s 

QS 

16 

July  21 

20 

c 

8C 

17 

99 

KnH 

c 

8D 

18 

99 

6C 

0 

AH 

19 

July  22 

KnS 

FS 

10  H 

20 

99 

2D 

s 

8C 

21 

July  29 

4S 

s 

AH 

She  wrote  H. 

22 

99 

8S 

s 

2C 

She  wrote  S. 

23 

99 

KD 

QS 

KnS 

She  said  suddenly  :  "  There  is  a 
figure,  a  queen  or  a  king." 

24 

July  30 

AH 

D 

2H 

She  drew  persistently  an  ace  on 
the  envelope  and  wrote  C. 

25 

99 

KnS 

KnS 

KnD 

26 

July  31 

AC 

4D 

10  H 

27 

w 

99 

3S 

3H 

70 

She  said  S.all  the  time, and 3  of  S. 

28 

Aug.  1 

5S 

2S 

KnS 

29 

99 

5D 

D 

KS 

She  said:  "A  small  D. 

30 

Aug.  4 

AS 

S 

5S 

31 

99 

8H 

80 

2H 

From  this  experiment  onwards,  the  cards  were  put  into  a  three-fold  envelope 


32 
33 
34 
35 
36 


37 
38 
39 
40 
41 
42 


Aug.  4 

40 

H 

8D 

99 

7D 

S 

10  D 

Aug.  6 

2D 

5S 

KnH 

99 

60 

C 

10  D 

Aug.  10 

KS 

2H 

4H 

99 

KC 

FC 

KnD 

99 

4D 

C 

5H 

Aug.  13 

8H 

7S 

4C 

99 

KS 

S 

KnD 

99 

8S 

C 

9S 

Aug.  15 

7H 

3C 

7S 

She  said  :  "  It  is  a  figure,"  at  the 
moment  when  I  was  going  to 
open  the  envelopes. 


Lucidity  or  Clairvoyance. 


83 


From  this  experiment  onwards,  two  envelopes  were  m*-.  k^  han(j 


43 
44 
45 

46 
47 
48 
49 


60 
51 
52 
53 
54 
55 
56 
57 
58 
59 
60 
61 
62 
63 
64 
65 


Aug.  15 


99 

Aug!  18 

99 
99 
99 


EnO 

H 

EnO 

QD 

FD 

7D 

2H 

D 

4H 

48 

3H 

10  0 

EnD 

D 

EnD 

AD 

FH 

10  D 

70 

S 

AS 

(Ask 

She  nut 

\ 
She  said :  *\ 


<£/ 


>  the 
<£ne 


$ 


From  this  experiment  onwards,  three  envelopes  weK 
Aug.  19 


99 
99 


99 


Aug.  21 


99 

99 


99 


Aug.  25 

99 
99 

Aug!  26 

99 
99 
99 


40 

8 

58 

5D 

28 

EnH 

EnH 

FH 

ES 

38 

S 

9H 

48 

20 

5H 

88 

38 

EO 

9H 

3S 

9S 

6D 

F  D 

3D 

5D 

H 

30 

9H 

8 

ED 

5H 

5H 

EnD 

6H 

30 

AS 

5H 

28 

9H 

8S 

H 

80 

5D 

H 

2H 

EnS 

FO 

QO 

("There  is  a  point  in  the  middle.") 


("A  point  in  the  middle.") 


Although  if  we  take  the  whole  of  this  second  series  of  experi- 
ments, the  amount  of  success  is  not  more  than  we  might  have 
expected  by  chance,  there  is,  I  think,  nevertheless,  some  evidence  point- 
ing to  lucidity.  L£onie  only  attempted  to  guess  anything  more  than 
the  suit  in  25  cases ;  in  9  of  those  25  cases  she  guessed  that  the  card 
was  a  court-card,  and  in  7  out  of  the  9  this  was  true.  In  5  of  these 
cases,  moreover,  she  guessed  rightly  the  suit  to  which  the  court-card 
belonged.  Only  once,  when  a  court-card  was  drawn  and  she  attempted 
to  guess  more  than  the  suit,  did  she  fail  to  designate  it  as  a  court-card. 
This  certainly  looks  like  some  abnormal  capacity  for  discerning  court- 
cards,  especially  when  we  remember  that  it  was  mainly  in  guessing 
court-cards  and  aces  that  she  succeeded  in  the  first  series. 

Conclusion. 

As  to  the  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  this  long  series  of  experi- 
ments, there  are  only  four  possible  hypotheses. 

(1)  Some  defect  in  the  experimentation. 

(2)  Chance. 

(3)  Some  exceptional  acuteness  in  retinal  vision  or  in  the  sense  of 
touch. 

(4)  Some  capacity  of  obtaining  knowledge,  whose  modus  operandi 
is  absolutely  unknown  to  us. 


80 

Further  Experiments  in  Hypnotic 

JStf&far  as  I  can  Bee,  there  was  no  defect  of  experimentation  in 
a  a?econd  series  of  trials.  I  have  not  the  presumption  or  conceit  to 
-^tifrm  that  there  was  none,  but,  for  my  part,  I  do  not  see  in  what  point 
the  experiments  can  be  defective.  The  card  is  marked  by  me  and  pat 
into  three  envelopes  sealed  with  sealing-wax ;  Leonie  attempts  to  guea 
it  in  my  sight.  I  take  it  out  of  the  envelope  myself,  and  1  only  take 
account  of  her  final  guess. 

In  the  first  series  the  defect  in  the  experiments  was  very  slight! 
so  slight  that  I  myself  consider  the  experiments  to  be  valid:  the 
hypothesis  that  Leonie  cheated  me  as  often  as  would  be  required  to 
account  for  her  success — by  substituting  a  card  chosen  by  her  for  the 
one  that  I  had  taken,  or  another  envelope  for  the  envelope  that  I  gate 
her — seems  to  me  absurd.  Experiment  57,  besides,  tells  against  this 
greatly  strained  explanation,  and  so  does  the  fact  that  so  large  a 
proportion — 13  out  of  17 — of  the  cards  fully  guessed  were  court-cards 
and  aces. 

We  must  then  accept  the  experiments  of  the  second  series  as 
irreproachable  and  those  of  the  first  series  as  almost  irreproachable. 

(2)  Chance  cannot  be  credited  with  the  designations  of  the  first 
series.  In  fact  the  probability  of  guessing  12  out  of  15  cards  right  is 
so  small  that  it  is  absolutely  certain  that  chance  could  not  produce 
such  a  series. 

The  experiments  of  the  second  part  are  less  conclusive,  but  Leonie's 
success  in  designating  court-cards  in  these  experiments  appears  to  me 
to  afford  distinct  confirmation  of  the  first  series.  It  would  certainly 
have  been  more  satisfactory  if  the  second  series  of  experiments  had 
been  as  successful  as  the  first,  but  nevertheless,  I  think,  we  may  con- 
clude from  the  two  series  taken  together  that  neither  chance  nor 
trickery  will  explain  Leonie's  success. 

(3)  We  are  left,  then,  to  the  two  other  hypotheses  of  visual  or  tactile 
hyper  acuity  on  the  one  part,  and  on  the  other  part  of  a  faculty  of 
knowledge  whose  modus  agendi  is  unknown  to  us. 

And  first  as  to  tactile  hyperesthesia.  The  pips  and  the  figures  are 
painted  on  the  cards,  and  rise  in  a  relief  which,  though  very  slight,  might 
enable  a  person  whose  sense  of  touch  was  abnormally  acute  to  recog- 
nise a  card  enclosed  in  an  envelope.  But  I  do  not  regard  it  as  possible 
that  this  could  be  done  through  two  thicknesses  of  paper.  The  sense  of 
touch  which  could  accomplish  this  feat  would  be  very  unlike  the 
sense  of  touch  which  we  actually  know. 

Is  it  then  to  be  explained  by  some  specially  keen  power  of  retinal 
vision  ? 

That  is  possible,  and  I  confess  that  my  mind  is  not  quite  made  up  on 
this  point.  The  fact  that  Leonie  discerns  court-cards  and  aces  especially 


Lucidity  or  Clairvoyance.  83 

well  would  seem  to  point  to  retinal  vision.  But  on  the  other  hand, 
the  addition  of  a  second  envelope  did  not  affect  the  result.  Also  the 
entranced  Leontine  seems  to  have  her  eyes  closed.  I  believe  that  the 
eyelids  are  only  lowered,  and  that  the  rays  of  light,  half-intercepted 
by  the  eyelids,  do  reach  the  retina,  but  at  any  rate  she  never  looks 
at  anything  except  with  nearly  closed  eyes,  and  allowing  only  a  small 
ray  of  light  to  enter  beneath  her  eyelids,  and  this  is  by  no  means  a 
convenient  way  to  look  at  things.  And  further,  she  does  not  attempt 
to  take  the  cards  into  the  sunlight  or  lamplight. 

Moreover,  in  judging  of  this  question  we  must  not  leave  out  of 
account  the  numerous  instances  of  lucidity  shown  by  L£onie  and  other 
somnambules,  in  cases  where  it  cannot  be  due  to  retinal  vision.  (See, 
e.g.)  the  example  quoted  by  me  on  p.  164,  Proceedings,  Part  XII.) 

I  may  add  that  even  if  it  be  retinal  vision,  a  retinal  vision  so  much 
more  developed  than  ours  would  almost  amount  to  a  new  perceptive 
faculty. 

(4)  We  have,  consequently,  to  admit  the  existence  of  some  faculty 
entirely  unknown  to  us — lucidity  or  second-sight — whichever  name  is 
applied  to  it — which  is  to  be  met  with  quite  exceptionally  in  certain 
subjects,  and,  even  with  them,  quite  irregularly  and  with  no  possibility 
hitherto  of  determining  the  conditions  of  its  occurrence. 

But  the  method  that  I  have  adopted  to  prove  this  important  fact  is 
purely  empirical  and  cannot  carry  conviction  with  it.  In  the 
experimental  sciences,  one  thing  is  necessary,  viz.,  to  be  able  to  control 
the  conditions  of  the  experiment.  If  a  chemist  were  to  find  a  new 
substance  and  were  to  declare  himself  unable  to  say  how  he  found  it 
or  to  produce  it  again,  nobody  would  listen  to  him,  and  that  would 
perhaps  be  reasonable.  In  the  same  way,  I  have  obtained  some 
phenomena  of  lucidity,  but  I  frankly  declare  myself  unable  to  tell  how 
I  obtained  them  or  why  I  succeeded  sometimes  and  sometimes  failed, 
and  I  cannot  undertake  to  produce  them  again.  This  is  empiricism, 
not  science. 

I  cannot,  however,  draw  from  this  any  discouraging  conclusion. 
On  the  contrary,  we  have  here  a  whole  series  of  absolutely  new 
phenomena  immersed  in  deep  shadow,  like  every  science  in  its  infancy. 
The  problem  then  must  be  attacked  resolutely  but  methodically, 
as  in  experimental  sciences.  Perhaps  after  all  the  so-called  occult 
sciences  are  only  a  chapter  in  Physical  Science — a  singularly  delicate 
Physical  Science — and  I  am  firmly  convinced  that  we  must  have 
recourse  to  Physical  Science  in  attempting  some  explanation  and  some 
definition  of  these  phenomena,  which,  to  my  mind,  are  certain  but 
inexplicable. 


*<L 


84  Duplex  Personality. 


V. 

DUPLEX  PERSONALITY. 

an  essay  on  the  analogy  between  hypnotic  phenomena  and  certain 
experiences  of  the  normal  consciousness.1 

By  Thomas  Barkworth. 


"  A  good  use  of  uncommon  things  is  to  force  us  to  look  more  curiously  at  the 
meaning  of  common  things  which  we  overlook  habitually." — Maudslky. 

Seeing  that  no  result  can  be  produced  experimentally  in  an  organ- 
ism, of  which  the  causes  and  the  constituents  are  not  pre-existent  in  it, 
it  would  be  strange  indeed  if  the  remarkable  performances  of  hypnotised 
persons  had  no  parallel  in  the  experiences  of  daily  life.  For,  however 
widely  the  one  may  differ  from  the  other  in  the  degrees  and  modes  of 
manifestation,  there  will  be  sufficient  resemblance  in  their  nature  and 
operation  to  enable  us  to  recognise  them  as  symptoms  of  the  same 
functions,  or  effects  of  the  same  forces.  Naturally,  the  first  class 
affords  the  most  attractive  subjects  for  speculation,  being  more  clearly 
defined,  more  salient  in  feature,  and  more  startling  in  results ;  but 
granting  these  points  of  vantage,  and  allowing  moreover  that  beyond 
their  inherent  interest  they  have  a  relative  value  in  throwing  light 
upon  the  constitution  of  mind  in  abnormal  states,  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  one  of  their  chief  points  of  interest  will  prove  to  be  the 
directing  of  attention  to  corresponding  normal  features,  laws,  and 
operations  of  mind,  which  we  might  otherwise  leave  unnoticed  although 
continually  in  presence  of  them. 

As  an  instance  I  may  point  to  those  indications  of  distinct  phniXl 
of  consciousness  which  have  been  termed  "  Duplex  "  or  "  Multiplex 
Personality."  At  present  it  seems  to  me  that  "  Duplex  Personality" 
would  be  a  term  wide  enough  to  cover  nearly  all  the  phenomena 
recorded ;  but  at  all  events,  without  these  and  similar  investigations, 
the  Unity  of  human  consciousness  would  have  remained  a  dogma 
unshaken  and  almost  unchallenged.  It  is  to  the  manifestation  of  this 
Duplex  Personality — called  elsewhere,  and  in  relation  to  other  cases, 
primary  and  secondary  consciousness — that  I  wish  to  address  myself 
with  the  object  of  showing  how  their  comparatively  dissevered  and 
almost  opposite  action  is  not  only  observable  in  the  hypnotic  state, 
but  also  in  the  e very-day  actions  of  life,  and  that  it  is  chiefly  owing 

1  What  is  here  published  is  a  portion  of  an  essay  by  Mr.  Barkworth,  somewhat 
enlarged  ninee  it  wan  read  at  a  meeting  of  the  Society  on  January  25th,  1889.    It 
ought  to  be  stated  that  the  Editor  of  the  Proceed in ffs,  and  not  the  author  of  the  paper* 
irresponsible  for  the  selection  of  the  portion  here  published. 


Duplex  Personality.  85 

to  the  very  frequency  and  commonplace  nature  of  the  evidences  for 
it  that  they  have  remained  so  little  recognised,  and  their  import  so 
unsuspected. 

The  most  prominent  and  prevailing  characteristic  of  the  ordinary 
actions  of  our  waking  life  is  that  they  are  performed  in  obedience  to  the 
will,  and  as  a  rule,  the  will  not  only  suggests  the  action,  but  presides 
over  its  fulfilment. 

This  rule  is,  however,  subject  to  numerous  exceptions  to  be  pre- 
sently noticed.  The  actions  of  the  hypnotic  state,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  largely  characterised  by  what  may  be  called  automatism ;  that  is  to 
say,  being  started  by  suggestion1  they  seem  to  be  carried  on  without 
volition  until  the  effect  of  the  impulse  dies  out,  or  until  the  suggested 
action  is  fully  completed,  and  cannot  therefore  be  any  longer  continued, 
or  until  the  suggestion  is  changed,  or  put  an  end  to,  by  the  operator.2 
In  these  cases,  however,  it  is  only  the  execution  and  not  the  initiation 
of  the  movements  which  is  automatic,  the  suggestion  for  them  being 
external  to  the  subject's  own  personality. 

Hypnotic  subjects  are  usually  so  harried  with  suggestions  as  to  have 
little  opportunity  for  showing  what  they  would  do  if  permitted  to  follow 
their  own  inclinations,  and  just  as  any  absurdity  seems  in  dreams  to  be 
perfectly  natural  and  commonplace,  so  in  the  hypnotic  trance  the  most 
bizarre  notions  can  be  imposed  upon  a  subject  without  arousing  in  him 
any  sense  of  incongruity.  A  man  can  be  made  to  believe  that  he 
is  a  hen,  and  to  chuckle  and  spread  his  wings  over  an  imaginary  brood 
of  chickens,  but  neither  in  this  case,  nor  in  the  more  or  less  similarly 
absurd  dreams  which  are  often  experienced  in  natural  sleep,  does  any 
sense  of  improbability,  still  less  of  the  ludicrous,  seem  to  strike  the 
sleeper.  I  except,  however,  those  dreams  which  the  harassed,  over- 
worked man  suffers  from  when  he,  in  sleep,  goes  over  again  the 
anxieties  and  worries  of  the  day's  study  or  business,  or  rehearses  those 
of  the  morrow.  In  this  case  his  sleep  is  not  sufficiently  profound  to  let 
the  reasoning  powers  rest,  or  in  the  language  of  hypnotists,  his  primary 
consciousness  is  not  completely  inhibited,  consequently  his  dreams  are, 
even  painfully,  rational  and  coherent,  and  he  commonly  remarks  on 
waking  that  he  feels  fatigued  rather  than  refreshed.  We  have,  how- 
ever, instances  of  complete  automatism  in  the  case  of  the  sleep-walker 
who  goes  through  a  variety  of  complicated  actions  entirely  self-sug- 
gested.    In   the   great   majority   of   even    these  cases,   however,    the 

1  The  term  suggestion  is  used  throughout  this  paper  in  the  technical  sense  familiar 
to  students  of  hypnotism. 

9  If  the  limbs  (of  the  hypnotised  subject)  are  disposed  so  as  to  begin  any  action 
it  is  carried  on  by  the  subject,  and  in  this  way  he  may  be  made  to  climb  or  go  on  all 
fours,  or  if  a  pen  or  a  piece  of  work  be  put  into  his  hand,  he  will  write  or  sew. 

Animal  Magnetism,  Binet  and  F6r6,  p.  181. 


86  Duplex  Personality.. 

element  of  suggestion  is  not  entirely  absent,  the  suggestion  being 
supplied  by  the  subject's  own  memory  or  engrained  habits.  Thus  the 
somnambulic  dairymaid  will  turn  the  churn,the  needlewoman  will  work 
away  at  the  unfinished  garment,  to  the  completion  of  which  she  has 
been  anxiously  looking  to  provide  her  weekly  rent,  and  so  on.  A  far 
rarer  and  more  interesting  case,  of  which  instances  are  not  wanting,  is 
that  of  the  sleep  walker,  whose  actions  are  not  only  not  suggested  by  the 
memories  of  his  waking  life,  but  are  of  such  a  nature  as  he  could  not 
perform  in  his  waking  state,  e.g.,  physically — walking  or  climbing  along 
the  edges  of  roofs  or  narrow  parapets  where  a  single  false  step  would 
be  death  ;l  mentally — writing  poetry,  or  composing  music  above  the 
level  of  his  ordinary  powers.  In  these  last-named  cases  automatism 
seems  to  rise  to  intuition. 

Having  thus  distinguished  between  actions  mental  or  physical, 
which  are  (a)  voluntary,  (b)  suggested  and  automatic,  and  (c)  intuitive 
and  automatic,  we  may  now  proceed  to  inquire  how  far  the  two  latter 
states  are  exhibited  in  the  ordinary  actions  of  healthy  persons  in  their 
waking  hours,  bearing  in  mind  that  in  their  case  the  term  suggestion 
must  be  restricted  to  the  self-imposed  dictates  of  their  own  will  auto- 
matically executed. 

(A)  On  the  first  of  these  classes  there  is  no  need  to  dwell.  The 
mental  processes  and  actions  comprised  in  it  cause  or  constitute  the 
vast  majority  of  the  conscious  acts  of  sane  persons.  The  will  not  only 
determines  upon  them, but  presides  over  their  fulfilment,and  they  attain 
their  end  by  a  succession,  or  a  combination  of  thoughts,  or  thoughtful 
acts,  consciously  planned,  or  co-ordinated,  to  a  definite  intelligible  end. 
In  reading  a  book,  in  writing  (not  copying}  a  letter,  in  conversation, 
and  in  all  forms  of  study  wo  have  examples  of  this  class. 

(B)  The  second  class,  which  includes  the  bulk  of  the  phenomena 
with  which  it  is  my  present  purpose  to  deal,  presents  to  us  voluntary 
and  automatic  consciousness  acting  in  combination,  but  far  more  inde- 
pendently than  is  commonly  supposed.  Just  as  a  suggestion  made  to  a 
hypnotic  subject  by  another  person  is  automatically  carried  out  by  the 

1  "  Dr.  Paul  Gamier  gives  an  instance  of  a  patient,  a  dentist's  assistant,  of  feeble 
bodily  and  mental  health,  who  frequently  fell  into  a  state  of  somnambulism.  On  one 
of  these  occasions  he  escaped  by  a  window  from  a  ward  of  the  Hdtel  Dieu,  in  which 
he  was  undergoing  treatment,  and,  though  a  peculiarly  unathletio  person,  walked 
easily  and  fearlessly  along  the  sloping  parapet  of  the  facade,  a  feat  which  a  trained 
gymnast  could  hardly  have  accomplished.  He  awoke  in  the  course  of  this  dangerous 
I>erformance,  and  had  to  be  rescued  by  means  of  a  ladder.  With  the  return  of  con- 
sciousness reason  awoke  ami  he  understood  the  horror  of  his  position."  SomnatnbulUwu 
devant  Us  TriV;t<ri<vf  i<jr,Paris,1888,  quoted  by  Dr.  Lloyd  Tuckey.  The  italics  are  mine. 
An  exactly  similar  case  occurred  not  long  since  at  one  of  the  large  hotels  near  Charing 
Cross.  In  this  case  the  individual  in  question  had  dreamed  that  the  house  was  on 
fire  and  that  he  had  to  escape  by  the  roof.  He  woke  in  a  most  perilous  position, 
and  his  cries  of  terror  brought  assistance  and  rescue. 


Dwplex  Personality.  87 

former,  so,  in  the  case  of  normal  self-suggestion,  the  will  prescribes  a 
course  of  action  which  is  then  automatically  carried  out  by  the  voluntary 
muscles.  The  mind  having  in  the  meantime  become  engaged  with  other 
subjects,  the  limbs  nevertheless  continue  to  perform  the  prescribed 
action  until  the  mind,  being  recalled  to  the  subject,  chooses  to  arrest  or 
vary  it. 

1.  The  simplest  cases  in  illustration  of  this  are  those  of  walking, 
eating,  or  dressing,  where  the  action  once  voluntarily  commenced  is 
continued  to  completion,  although  the  mind  has  in  the  meanwhile 
become  wholly  engrossed  with  another  subject.  The  case  is  shown  much 
more  clearly,  however,  when  the  suggestion  takes  the  form  of  a  standing 
order  engrained  by  habit.  If  a  good  hypnotic  subject  were  ordered 
thus :  "  Every  morning  at  nine  o'clock  you  will  leave  your  house  and 
walk  to  the  end  of  the  street  where  you  will  catch  the  bus,"  he  would 
do  so  until  the  suggestion  wore  off. 

Now,  let  it  be  supposed  that  a  man  who  is  usually  accustomed  to 
do  this  very  thing,  one  morning  receives  a  letter,  which  absorbs  his 
attention  at  the  time  when  he  is  leaving  his  house  to  go  in  a  new  and 
different  direction.  If  his  mind  be  so  engrossed  with  the  letter  as  to  be  • 
withdrawn  from  considering  his  destination,  and  so  from  imposing  a 
new  suggestion  upon  his  movements,  the  old  suggestion  will  continue  to 
operate,  and  he  will  from  "  force  of  habit,"  as  it  is  termed,  walk  to  the 
end  of  the  street  and  perhaps  even  get  into  the  "  bus,"  and  proceed  some 
distance,  till  his  mind,  accidentally  recalled  to  the  subject,  peremptorily 
suggests  to  him  to  stop  the  "  bus "  and  retrace  his  route.  This  is 
called  "  absence  of  mind  "  to  which  some  persons  are  more  subject  than 
others,  just  as  some  persons  are  better  hypnotic  subjects  than  others. 
If  you  have  an  office  or  chambers  from  which  you  set  out  to  transact 
business  at  another  place,  afterwards  returning  to  your  own  office,  the 
habit  of  always  returning  there  will  become  a  standing  suggestion,  and 
when  a  day  comes  that  you  have  three  or  four  places  to  go  to  instead 
of  one,  you  will  find,  if  your  mind  is  much  engrossed  with  business,  that 
instead  of  going  the  round  of  these  places  at  once,  you  persist  in 
returning  to  your  own  quarters  between  each  call,  and  to  your  great 
vexation  have  to  go  back  more  or  less  over  the  same  ground,  just  when 
you  arrive  at  your  own  door.  This  is  a  case  taken  from  repeated 
experience. 

2.  The  case  becomes  more  interesting  when  the  action  is  more  com- 
plicated. It  is  often  found  that  in  reading  music  at  the  pianoforte,  for 
instance — it  matters  not  whether  the  piece  is  seen  for  the  first  time  or 
not — the  player  will  frequently  allow  his  mind  to  wander  to  other 
topics,  and  become  so  interested  in  them  as  quite  to  forget  what  he  is 
doing,  and  cease  to  be  conscious  of  any  attention  to  it.  Nevertheless 
the  suggestion  having  been  originally  imposed  by  the  mind  to  ^>Ykj  \}tvs> 


isuttiear  P'-*r*rmaiitty, 

U+  -faym  r?H  **vtriirae  -wftuuacicady  11  'in 
£.>U*r  -U*  *«-^    »*>ile  *4l  *he  rime  rhe  rbmejhni 
V*-  ^*^    **wf  \hi«  r»;H  ^nnruie  innl  vuneshmit 
/v»r^f  ^  -k*  i*t*«u*   <i*i^ti  4*  rparthin^  The  4orf  if  *£» 

*  yt~*vp  y*A*ntm%  .tew  siinVnlrie*  fhr 
■**A+  "Jf  Inqprlnqr  ;i>  *v*t#m  annul  ami  'vmaaamm 
,*#*?to**.  •>*  .4*mtnin<f  p*w»r  *  mailed  ftir  %  «ive  dbs 
«>>•!«  *4i«*rf  Trti«  ^a*e  In  «  <i\Mfinez  and  marked 
flv»me»*  v*e.  frt  nhat  i*4ie  aetion  wa*  #miy  du*  ample  ace  <rf  walking 
'♦/^*'*rt»v>»wly  in  %  apv^n  4ireebrtn.  repeacixur  Y«bft  «u  muvuiienfi  of  Ac 
>#  SU  *.H*  #vU  iran  reaeherf.  whil*  in  she  caae  <rf  die  \m\*1i\iU 
p**y*r  "h***  *t*  the  1*9*?***  Atonement*  of  ten.  Omens  axwdnutocd  to 
-vrt*  **wf  (s*t.  rtwwfVwwviiA,  hwt  varied  in  every 
**\4  UA\s?**A  temi  the  printed  page,  yet  ail  dime  without 
'4  th*  'VrHiiver/  kind,  xtA  with  ao  exercise  of  the  wfll 
^$B^mv»v  whv*h  *i*it*d  it.  With  thia  eaae  may  be 
^4**Ah*tV;  ^perhnent*  related  by  the  late  3fr.  Gnrney  {. 
'4  th+  frsfaty  f/*  PtythieaJ  Keaeareh,  Part  XL,  X<x  3)  in 
*n^«*4//n«  /if  word*  t/,  be  written,  or  of  calculations,  were  oftied  to  a 
*»bje*t    4nt\u%  hypwAi**K\/jto.      Being  then  awakened  and  made  to 

*  **/)  *|//r>d,  hi*  hand  '*»  a  plartfhette,  he  aatomatically  executed  tbe  ng- 
g****/)   f^utk^  altbs/ngh  hi*  mind   wax  wholly  given  to  the  book.     The 
f*ff'sr  matte*  (4  mnnu;  affords,  however,  a  still  more  striking  flfostrmtkm 
t4  tb*  relative  fnttrt,umn  //f  tb*  primary  and  the  secondary  conaeions- 
u***.     \u  learning  a  new  instrument,  the  production  of  each  note  is  for 
h  Ufttft  turn  a  separate  intellectual  act.     The  choice  of  the  note  in 
i'*ttt*m\ftmt\*ufA  with  the  printer]  sign  upon  the  page,  the  mode  of  pro- 
i\w\u%  St  with  the  lips,  or  the  bow,  in  combination  with  the  fingers, 
are  all  subjeet*  /^f  distinct  thoughts,  of  which  we  are  definitely  aware. 
My  *UfW  AfiHrwn  and  ^intinu^l  practice  the  action  tends  to  become 
ttitlsttnntUi,  thnt    is  to  way    the   sight  of    the  printed   note  suggests 
ImuMimiM  vely  t^»  the  lijm  and  the  fingers  those  combined  movements  which 
Wife  ffiwcNMftry   to  pro<luee  it.     At  length  there  comes  a  time  when  we 
(Hiss  from  the  one  state  to  the  other,  and,  when  playing  a  scale,  for 
IhslfUHw,  we  abandon  the  attempt  to  think  of  each  note  separately, 
and  simply  starting  from  the  top  of  the  scale,  and  trusting  ourselves 
Ut  aulomatlo  guidance,  we  arrive  at  the  lx>ttom  of  it  we  know  not  how  ; 
ami  after  further  practice  are  enabled  to  play  the  scale  with  a  rapidity 
wltlelt  dolles  the  effort  to  follow  with    the   mind    the    separate    pro- 
ductlnn  iir  fingering  of  the  notes.    Not  only  is  the  action  of  the  primary 
or  voluntary  cntiMriousnw*  of  no  use  hore,  but  the  attempt  to  exercise  it 
Is  n  dint  I  not  nhstaolo  to  muocwr,  and  wo  have  in  this  fact  one  reason  why 
'•hervoumuW  caimes  performers  to  fail  or  "break  down,"  as  it  is  called. 
Tht*  /tntinly  lo  do  well  and  the  fear  of  failure  cause  the  player,  instead 


Duplex  Personality.  89 

of  abandoning  himself  to  the  action  of  his  automatic  faculties,  to 
obtrude  operations  of  thought  and  will  upon  his  fingers,  and  as  his 
thoughts  are  not  capable  of  following  his  fingers  with  sufficient 
rapidity,  there  ensues  a  want  of  correspondence  between  the  two  modes 
of  action,  the  first  not  being  able  to  keep  pace  with  the  second, 
which,  as  it  were,  is  tripped  up.  The  player  is  in  fact  thinking 
of  one  note  when  he  is  playing  another,  although  he  may  not  be  able 
to  discern  the  fact. 

A  physiological  account  of  this  phenomenon  is  given  by  Ferrier 
(Functions  of  the  Brain,  pp.  252-3)  as  follows : — 

"  We  have  reason  from  the  facts  of  comparative  physiology  to  regard  the 
corpora  striata  as  the  centres  in  which  these  habitual  or  automatic  movements 
become  organised.  .  .  .  Though  the  consciousness  of  sensory 
impressions  must  precede  -  any  truly  volitional  act  in  response  thereto,  we 
find  that  by  education  and  frequent  repetition  the  action  becomes  so  easy  as 
to  follow  impression  without  conscious  discrimination  or  attention,  the  nexus 
between  impression  and  action  becoming  so  organically  welded  in  the  sensory 
and  motor  centres  as  to  assume  the  character  of  reflex  action  below  the  domain 
of  consciousness.  In  this  case  we  may  suppose  that  impressions  made  on  the 
organs  of  sense  travel  up  to  the  optic  thalami,  and  thence  pass  directly  to 
the  corpora  striata  instead  of  taking  the  larger  or  conscious  circle  through  the 
sensory  and  motor  centres  of  the  hemispheres.  .  .  .  We  may  express  it 
thus  that  in  actions  requiring  conscious  discrimination,  and  voluntary  eflort, 
the  larger  circle  of  the  hemispheres  is  involved,  but  that  in  the  actions  which 
have  become  habitual  and  automatic,  the  larger  circle  is  greatly  relieved  by 
the  organic  nexus  between  impression  and  action  which  has  been  established 
in  the  sensory  and  motor  basal  ganglia." 

The  physiological  theory  thus  stated  may  suflice  to  account  for  the 
simpler  classes  of  automatic  actions.  But  even  here  it  is  noteworthy 
that  the  distinguished  writer  from  whom  I  have  quoted,  in  his 
endeavour  to  show  that  the  reactions  in  question  are  "  outside  the  sphere 
of  psychical  activity  properly  so  called,"  is  unable  even  to  state  his  own 
view  without  resorting  to  the  language  of  metaphor  when  he  speaks  of 
the  "  nexus  between  impression  and  action  becoming  organically  welded 
in  the  sensory  and  motor  centres": — we  might  safely  challenge  the 
author  to  show  us  anatomically  the  "organic  weld"  of  which  he  speaks. 

We  shall,  however,  presently  see  that  both  in  hypnotic  experiments 
and  in  ordinary  states  of  consciousness  there  is  abundant  evidence  of 
psychical  activities,  involving  the  action  of  the  hemispheres  and  the 
higher  centres  of  the  brain,  which  nevertheless  are  outside  the  domain 
of  normal  consciousness  and  volition. 

The  higher  we  go  in  tracing  the  physical  correlative  of  the  mental 
process  the  more  difficult  it  becomes  to  locate  it.  While  the  merely 
somatic  energies,  whether  motor  or  sensory,  can  be  assigned  with  reason- 
able certainty  to  their  respective  centres,  the  higher  seals  ot  \2tvoM^c& 


90  Duplex  Personality. 

and  reason  cannot  be  found  at  all.  The  most  that  Dr.  Ferrier  feels  him- 
self entitled  to  say  on  this  point  is  that  "  there  is  nothing  inherently 
improbable  in  the  view  that  frontal  development  in  special  regions 
may  be  indicative  of  the  power  of  concentration  of  thought  and  intel- 
lectual capacity  in  special  directions/'  although  considerable  portions  of 
the  frontal  lobes  may  be  removed  without  any  obvious  impairment  of 
function.     Nor  do  they  respond  to  electrical  stimulation. 

At  this  point  I  shall  venture  to  change  the  nomenclature  which  is 
usually  employed — and  which  I  have  so  far  myself  used — to  designate 
the  two  modes  of  consciousness  that  I  have  distinguished,  viz.,  primary 
and  secondary.  These  terms  appear  to  me  objectionable  as  implying 
either  (1)  an  order  of  succession  in  time  which  is  not  found  in  the 
facts,  or  (2)  a  difference  in  moral  dignity  or  functional  importance 
which  is  at  present  a  mere  assumption.  The  terms  "  active  "  and  "  pas- 
sive "  consciousness  seem  to  me  better  adapted  to  express  my  own  view 
of  the  duality  of  consciousness,  and  I  propose  therefore  to  adopt  them 
in  future.  Under  the  head  of  "  active  consciousness  "  I  shall  include 
all  those  voluntary  operations  of  the  mind  which  normally  determine 
our  actions ;  while  referring  to  "  passive  consciousness  "  all  the  phe- 
nomena of  automatism,  whether  in  the  normal  or  hypnotic  state,  and 
the  power  which,  while  employed  to  carry  out  the  suggestions  of  the 
will,  either  of  the  individual  himself  or  of  another  person,  is  occasion- 
ally able  to  transcend  the  behests  laid  upon  it  with  highly  interesting 
results. 

3.  We  may  now  advance  to  higher  forms  of  the  exhibition  of  the 
passive  consciousness.  In  walking  we  had  an  instance  of  simple  auto- 
matism ;  in  playing,  of  combined  and  complicated  automatic  action, 
but  in  neither  case  was  the  passive  consciousness  called  upon  to  do  any- 
thing more  than  follow  mechanically  a  prescribed  course  of  action, 
indicated  in  the  first  instance  by  the  initial  movement  of  the  limbs  set 
going  by  the  will,  and,  in  the  second  case,  by  the  notes  printed  on  a 
sheet  of  music.  In  the  case  of  adding  up  long  columns  of  addition, 
however,  we  get  to  something  beyond  either  of  these.  Here,  again,  the 
action  is  at  first  voluntary  throughout,  and  gradually  tends  to  become 
automatic.  A  beginner  needs  all  his  attention,  the  addition  of  each 
figure  as  he  ascends  the  column  being  a  problem  to  be  separately  con- 
sidered ;  but  I  have  found  that  by  degrees  it  is  possible  to  cease  think- 
ing of  the  figures,  and  by  constant  practice  to  be  able  to  add  with  great 
rapidity  and  correctness  while  the  mind  is  far  away  and  busily  engaged 
with  other  subjects.  Here  there  is  no  longer  a  merely  monotonous 
movement  to  be  kept  up,  nor  a  printed  guide  to  be  followed,  but  a 
succession  of  independent  mental  actions  which  are  not  foreseen,  nor 
taken  at  second-hand  from  a  printed  page,  but  arise  spontaneously  and 
adapt  themselves  to  any  combination  of  figures. 


Dwplex  Personality.  91 

The  fact  that  these  combinations  are  not  foreseen,  and  yet  are  dealt 
with  as  fast  as  they  arise,  would  at  first  sight  seem  to  show  that  the 
passive  consciousness  was  capable  of  originating  as  well  as  of  executing 
psychical  actions.  Further  consideration  will,  however,  disprove  this, 
so  far  as  the  present  case  goes.  We  have  here,  in  fact,  the  develop- 
ment of  the  operation  of  standing  suggestions.  It  has  become  a  stand- 
ing order  of  the  mind  that  two  and  two  make  four,  and  that  nine  and 
four  make  thirteen,  and  so  on ;  and  hence  it  is  no  longer  necessary  for 
the  mind  to  re-enact  the  rule  on  every  separate  occasion,  but  the  passive 
consciousness  automatically  obeys  it,  although  the  mind  is  "  absent."  A 
parallel  case  in  hypnotics  is  thus  related  by  Mr.  Gurney  (Proceedings, 
Part  XII.,  pp.  4  and  5  ) 

"  A  large  number  of  experiments  were  made  in  the  working  out  of  sums 
by  the  'secondary  intelligence,'  the  sum  being  given  to  the  subject  while  he 
was  in  the  hypnotic  state,  and  the  answer  being  written  down  by  him 
automatically  with  a  planchette,  while  he  was  in  the  normal  state,  and  wholly 
unaware  both  of  the  act  of  reckoning  and  of  what  he  was  writing.  .  .  . 
He  was  made  to  place  his  right  hand  on  the  planchette  *  his  attention  being 
occupied  by  reading  aloud  '    ...     or  some  similar  device." 

The  italics  are  my  own. 

In  these  cases  and  that  of  unconscious  sight  reading  of  music,  it 
does  not  seem  possible  to  consider  the  mental  action  (which  is  applied, 
for  the  first  time,  to  a  new  subject  requiring  the  exercise  of  much 
higher  than  merely  mechanical  powers),  as  being  accomplished  by  the 
shorter  circuit  of  which  Dr.  Ferrier  writes.  We  must  therefore  con- 
clude that  automatic  processes  are  occasionally  wrought  out  in  the 
higher  cerebral  tracts  also. 

A  curious  case  bearing  on  the  same  point  was  mentioned  by  Mr. 
Myers  at  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research.  A 
certain  clerk  in  a  French  office  having  been  hypnotised  was  told  that 
two  and  two  made  five.  Next  day  all  his  work  went  wrong,  and  it 
was  not  for  some  time  discovered  that  he  had  in  every  place,  when  two 
and  two  came  together,  added  them  as  five.  In  his  case  the  standing 
order  of  his  own  intellect  to  consider  two  and  two  as  four  had  been 
superseded  by  the  new  injunction  which  continued  to  operate,  although 
he  had  no  recollection  of  receiving  it. 

(C)  We  now  come  to  the  consideration  of  the  third  class  of  mental 
and  physical  actions,  those,  namely,  which  I  have  ventured  to  describe 
as  not  only  automatic  but  intuitive.  I  mean  by  this  term  actions  that 
appear  to  involve  intuitive  mental  powers.  I  am  aware,  of  course, 
that  the  existence  of  such  powers  is  denied  by  some  metaphysicians, 
who  attribute  the  performance  of  actions  which  can  be  acquired  neither 
by  instruction,  nor  by  personal  experience,  to  hereditary  instinct,  and 
the  embodied  experience  of  the  race.     This  denial  is  not  sur^rism^ 


92  Duplex  Personality. 

since  if  we  allow  the  existence  of  purely  intuitive  powers,  we  seem 
virtually  to  assert  that  effects  can  exist  without  a  cause.  Nevertheless 
there  remains  a  class  of  phenomena  which  apparently  fulfils  this  very 
definition,  and  although  far  from  asserting  that  there  is  no  cause  for 
them,  I  think  it  is  impossible  in  our  present  state  of  knowledge  to 
show  the  cause,  and  I  therefore  adopt  the  word  intuitive,  provisionally, 
to  describe  them. 

I  will  take  as  a  first,  and  typical,  instance  of  intuitive  thought 
and  action,  the  case  of  musical  improvisation.  The  power  of  improvis- 
ing music  so  as  to  employ  the  full  capacity  of  the  instrument,  and  to  do 
so  with  unhesitating  fluency  and  without  any  conscious  effort  of  the 
mind,  is  somewhat  rare  ;  and  in  describing  it,  I  am  compelled  to  rely 
chiefly  on  my  own  experience.  Where  this  power  exists  it  exhibits  the 
faculty  of  intuitive  passive  consciousness  in  full  exercise.  The  will 
is  entirely  inoperative.  Not  only  is  no  decision  formed  as  to  the  theme 
or  its  modifications,  but  there  is  not  even  any  knowledge  of  what  the  next 
bar  will  be.  Thus  I  have  constantly  sat  and  listened  to  my  own  impro 
visations,  with  as  much  interest  as,  and  with  no  more  knowledge  of, 
what  was  coming  next,  than  another  listener  would  have,  and  this 
statement  applies  not  only  to  melody  or  theme,  but  to  the  most  elabor- 
ate modulations  of  harmony,  effected  equally,  moreover,  without  any 
dependence  on  a  theoretical  knowledge  of  music,  and  in  accordance  with 
some  unknown  instinct. 

We  have  seen  that  in  those  actions  which  are  suggested 
and  automatic,  the  will  is  able  to  control  the  passive  conscious- 
ness sufficiently  to  initiate  them  and  to  ensure  their  ultimate 
fulfilment.  It  is  far  otherwise  with  those  which  are  intuitive 
and  automatic.  The  will  of  the  player  may  seat  him  at  the  organ,  but 
all  its  efforts  will  not  cause  ideas  to  flow.  The  faculty  will,  indeed,  not 
being  extinguished  but  only  dormant,  respond  to  a  limited  extent — the 
limits  being  those  of  habit,  and  of  facility  resulting  from  experience 
— but  the  result  will  be  poor  and  tame,  and  will  disappoint  no  one  more 
than  the  performer  himself.  The  fact  of  effort,  then,  will  at  once  prove 
the  absence  of  inspiration,  and  warn  the  artist  to  desist. 

The  independence  of  the  will  shown  by  the  passive  consciousness  in 
its  higher  manifestation  of  intuitive  power  is,  in  fact,  one  of  its  most 
remarkable  characteristics;  and  the  efforts  of  will  not  only  fail  to 
induce  these  manifestations,  but  tend  to  hinder  them,  by  disturbing  that 
serene  and  complete  absorption  in  the  task,  which  is  essential.  It  seems 
highly  probable  that  the  extraordinary  powers  of  impromptu  versification 
shown  by  Theodore  Hook  and  the  late  Mr.  Serjeant  Payne  were  of  the 
same  intuitive  kind  as  the  faculty  of  musical  improvisation  above  spoken 
of.  To  sit  down  to  the  piano  at  a  moment's  notice  and  reel  off  verse 
after  verse  of  rhyme,  without  any  consciousness  of  effort  and  without 


Duplex  Personality.  93 

the  least  previous  preparation,  seems  to  imply  intuitive  power  able  to 
dispense  with  the  ordinary  process  of  intellectual  construction.  For 
consider,  in  the  composition  of  even  the  simplest  verses  on  a  given 
subject,  according  to  the  usual  method,  how  many  elements  of  construc- 
tion have  to  be  kept  in  view.  There  is,  first,  the  rhythm  or  correct 
syllabic  balance  of  the  lines ;  next  the  rhyme  requiring  a  word  to  be 
found  at  the  end  of  each  line  phonetically  in  correspondence  with  the 
one  above,  and,  concurrently  with  these,  the  invention  of  coherent 
sentences  which  shall  not  only  convey  definite  ideas,  but  shall  do  so  with 
so  much  wit  and  appropriateness  as  to  cause  the  greatest  amusement 
to  the  company.  I  think  it  probable  that  if  Mr.  Hook  or  Mr.  Payne 
had  been  asked  the  question,  they  would  have  said  that  their  conscious 
mental  participation  in  the  performance  was  confined  to  that  of  a 
listener,  and  that  they  were  wholly  unable  to  say  how  it  was  produced, 
or  to  foresee  the  termination  of  a  verse  at  the  beginning  of  it. 

To  a  limited  extent,  and  with  important  modifications,  the  same 
powers  are  exhibited  by  an  orator.  The  subjects  of  an  oration  are,  of 
course,  prepared  entirely  by  the  voluntary  activity  of  the  intellect,  so 
are  also  the  order  in  which  they  come,  and  similar  intellectual  activity 
is  very  seldom  entirely  absent  during  delivery.  But  in  the 
extemporaneous  composition  of  individual  sentences  there  is  much  that 
seems  intuitive.  A  sentence  will  be  begun  of  which  the  conclusion  is 
not  foreseen.  Words  rise  at  the  right  moment  spontaneously  to  com- 
plete it.  Sometimes,  indeed,  when  the  speaker  is  searching  either  his 
memory  or  his  notes  for  the  next  head  of  his  discourse,  his  mind  will  be 
so  occupied  with  this  endeavour  that  he  has  for  a  few  sentences  to 
trust  almost  entirely  to  the  phrase-forming  intuition  to  keep  him  going 
till  he  is  ready  to  start  on  the  new  subject.  In  proportion  as  he  is  able 
to  abandon  himself  to  this  phrase-forming  faculty  with  confidence,  so 
will  his  address  be  fluent  and  unconstrained,  and  so  also  will  he  reap 
the  advantage  of  being  able  to  concentrate  his  mind  upon  the  more 
important  task  of  marshalling  his  subjects  and  elaborating  his  argu- 
ment. In  an  unpractised  speaker,  or  at  the  commencement  of  a  speech, 
we  see  the  same  hindrance  offered  by  the  intrusion  of  the  will  upon  the 
automatic  powers  which  we  previously  noted  in  the  case  of  the  musical 
performer.  The  self-conscious  speaker,  unable  to  trust  him- 
self to  automatic  guidance,  labours  to  compose  each  sentence 
separately,  and  consequently  trips  and  stumbles  like  the  player  on  an 
instrument  to  which  he  is  not  accustomed.  In  connection  with  the 
automatic  power  of  phrase-forming  I  may  here  mention  a  fact  drawn 
from  my  own  experience.  It  often  happens  that  in  the  drowsy  con- 
dition of  incipient  slumber,  when  the  active  consciousness  is  almost 
inhibited  though  not  entirely  lost,  phrases  form  themselves  spon- 
taneously in  the  mind,    having   relation   to  no  subject  in  paxtvcvxW^ 


94  Duplex  Personality, 

entirely  disjointed  from  one  another,  and  of  course  devoid  of  any 
connected  sense.  This  suggests  an  interesting  question,  viz.,  whether, 
when  the  condition  passes  from  drowsiness  into  sleep,  these  broken 
fragments  of  language  ever  weld  themselves  into  a  coherent  whole,  and 
if  so,  what  may  be  the  effect  produced  ?  Now,  it  sometimes  has 
happened  to  persons,  entirely  devoid  as  they  and  their  friends  suppose  of 
any  poetic  faculty,  to  dream  of  reciting  or  reading  long  pieces  of  poetry. 
They  seem  in  their  dream  to  be  reading  or  reciting  it  without  the 
slightest  effort  of  either  memory  or  invention,  and  to  continue  some- 
times for  a  space  that  would  occupy  several  pages.  Yet,  on  waking,  not 
a  word  is  remembered.  The  question  then  arises  :  '  Did  I,  in  my 
dream,  repeat  real  lines  of  poetry,  or  did  I  only  fancy  that  I  was  doing 
so  upon  a  merely  general  idea  of  poetry  in  the  mass  ?  The  latter  idea  is 
usually  accepted  by  the  person  himself,  oh  the  ground  that  as  he  could 
not  possibly  write  poetry  with  any  amount  of  effort  when  he  was  awake, 
it  would  be  incredible  that  he  should  compose  it  without  effort  when  he 
was  asleep.  I  have  lately,  however,  had  occasion  to  doubt  this  con- 
clusion. Dreaming  of  being  at  the  Royal  Academy  and  of  referring  to 
the  catalogue  for  the  name  of  a  picture,  I  found  it,  as  is  often  really 
the  case,  described  not  by  a  title,  but  by  a  verse  of  poetry  having 
relation  to  its  subject.  I  read  off  this  verse  with  the  same  total 
absence  of  effort  and  unconsciousness  of  invention  that  attends  all 
dreams,  and,  as  it  happened,  instantly  woke.  The  verse  is  not  worth 
quoting,  but  it  rhymed  and  scanned  correctly,  had  a  metaphorical 
application  quite  appropriate  to  the  subject  of  the  picture,  and  (what 
is  most  significant)  it  would  have  been  quite  beyond  my  powers  to 
have  invented  it  when  awake.  What  followed  was  equally  curious. 
While  I  lay  for  some  time  in  a  drowsy  state,  the  phrase-forming 
faculty  I  have  before  alluded  to  seemed  to  have  been  set  going  by  the 
dream,  only  that,  instead  of  broken  fragments  of  prose,  there  ensued 
broken  snatches  of  verse,  fragments  of  lines  entirely  disconnected, 
both  as  to  subject  and  matter. 

It  would  be  interesting  at  this  point  to  search  for  any  parallel  to 
these  intuitive  and  automatic  processes  of  mind  that  could  be  found 
in  the  history  of  hypnotic  experiment.  Unfortunately,  however,  the 
last  thing  hypnotisers  ever  seem  to  think  of  is  to  encourage  the  subject 
to  follow  his  own  intuitions  or  exercise  his  own  inventive  powers,  and 
from  first  to  last  he  is  made  the  slave  of  external  suggestion.  The  only 
cases  at  all  resembling  the  intuitive  manifestation  of  the  passive 
consciousness  I  can  recall  are  those  of  the  famous  Madame  B.,  whose 
secondary  self  sometimes  induced  her  to  take  railway  journeys,  or 
write  letters  ;  of  the   patient  described  in  Animal  Magnetism,1  who, 

1  Page  199. 


Duplex  Personality.  95 

in  a  spontaneous  attack  of  hysteria,  commanded  his  own  arm  to  bleed, 
▼hereupon  soon  afterwards  the  cutaneous  haemorrhage  was  displayed ; 
and  of  others  acting  under  what  is  called  "  self-suggestion." 

That  these  were  not  self-suggestions  in  the  ordinary  sense,  that  is, 
that  they  were  not  suggestions  proceeding  from  the  primary  or  active 
consciousness,  and  executed  by  the  secondary  or  passive  conscious- 
ness, is  proved  by  the  fact  that  as  soon  as  Madame  B.'s  primary 
consciousness  was  aroused  she  put  a  stop  to  proceedings  which  it 
had  never  sanctioned.  Thus  having  embarked  in  a  train  under  the 
secondary  influence,  she  left  it  and  returned  home  as  soon  as  the 
primary  self  resumed  its  sway. 

So  also  in  the  other  case  the  suggestion  and  its  execution  both 
took  place  while  the  patient  was  in  the  abnormal  condition  of  spon- 
taneous hysterical  trance. 

To  sum  up :  in  contrast  to  our  ordinary  experience  of  voluntary 
intellectual  and  ratiocinative  activity,  which  progresses  by  effort  and 
gradation,  we  must  recognise  the  existence  in  man  of  a  different  kind 
of  consciousness,  which  I  distinguish  as  "passive,"  which  operates 
automatically,  instinctively,  and  sometimes  intuitively,  and  progresses 
per  mltum  and  without  effort.  To  the  latter  kind  of  consciousness 
belongs  what  is  called  Genius,  in  contrast  with  Talent,  which  is 
exhibited  by  the  former. 

I  now  proceed   to  consider  how  far  the  active  and  the   passive 

consciousness  are  distinguishable  in  the  operations  of  the  faculty  of 

memory.    An  ordinary  operation  of  memory  consists — as  is  well  known 

— in  a  chain  of  associated  ideas,  each  idea  leading  to  the  next,  and  that 

to  the  one  beyond.     Thus  the  mention  of  Spain  in  a  geography  lesson 

provokes  the  associated  ideas  of  Madrid  and  Sherry  :  the  occurrence  of 

the  first  notes  in  a  tune,  or  the  first  words  in  a  poem,  provoke  the 

aasociated  idea  of  those  which  follow ;  if  we  have  an  appointment  to 

keep  at  noon,  the  arrival  of  noon  provokes  the  associated  idea  of  .the 

appointment,  and  so  on.     Taking  this  to  be  the  memory  belonging  to 

the  active  consciousness,  I  would  hazard  the  conjecture  that  the  passive 

consciousness  has  also  a  memory  peculiar  to  itself  and  fundamentally 

different  from  the  other : — the  first  memory  consisting  of  successive 

concatenated    impressions,    the    second    of    a    homogeneous    pictorial 

impression. 

According  to  this  view  we  should  expect  the  secondary  memory  of 
a  hypnotised  subject  to  be  able  to  repeat  a  lesson  as  well  backwards  as 
forwards,  and  this  is  pretty  much  what  is  found  to  be  the  case  in  the 

1*ery  few  experiments  that  have  been  tried. 
In  November,    1888,  Mr.  G.  A.  Smith  kindly  consented  to  make 
**ne  experiments  for  me  of  this  nature,  and   though  there  was  only 
Qfttttimity  to  try  them  on  one  subject,  the  results  as  far  as  they  v?ei\t> 


96  Duplex  Personality. 

may  be  claimed  in  support  of  this  view.  After  a  number  of  experi- 
ments in  repeating  figures  forwards  and  backwards  and  adding 
them  up  while  in  the  hypnotic  sleep,  with  remarkable  results  which 
there  is  no  time  now  to  consider,  the  memory  peculiar  to  the  passive 
consciousness  was  further  tested  with  short  sentences  both  during  the 
sleep  and  after  wakening. — e.g.y  Sentence  read  to  the  subject  "  all  the 
makers  named  are  good."  He  was  then  told  to  write  the  sentence 
backwards  with  the  planchette  and  being  awakened  he  recollected  as 
usual  nothing  about  it.  He  was  then  set  to  work  with  the  planchette 
while  a  newspaper  was  held  over  it  and  he  was  occasionally  engaged 
in  conversation.  When  the  planchette  ceased  the  following  curious 
result  was  found  to  have  occurred.  When  told  to  write  the  sentence 
backwards,  the  intention  was  that  the  words  only  should  be  written 
in  reverse  order,  but  otherwise  in  the  usual  way ;  the  subject  had, 
however,  understood  the  command  to  be  that  he  should  spell  the 
words  backwards  and  turn  the  letters  the  wrong  way.  In  order  to 
read  the  writing,  therefore,  it  was  necessary  to  hold  it  to  a  looking- 
glass,  and  so  held  it  was  quite  legible.  If  any  person  will  attempt  to 
do  the  same  in  his  ordinary  condition  he  will  discover  the  difficulty  of 
the  performance,  which  can  only  be  accomplished,  if  at  all,  for  the  first 
time,  by  picturiDg  to  his  own  mind  the  reversed  appearance  of  the 
letters  and  words,  and  this  requires  a  considerable  effort ;  but — as  I 
suggest — the  pictorial  memory  of  the  passive  consciousness  succeeded  in 
doing  it  without  the  least  hesitation  or  difficulty.  (See  also  Proceed- 
ings, Part  XI.,  pp.  306  and  307,  in  which  a  subject  of  Mr.  Gurney's 
is  reported  to  have  spelt  words  with  a  planchette  backwards  as  well  as 
forwards.) 

Another  instance  of  the  pictorial  or  impressional  memory  is  quoted 
by  Mr.  Myers  from  Dr.  Mesnet  (Proceedings,  Part  XI.,  p.  235).  The 
subject,  a  soldier  who  had  received  a  gunshot  wound  in  the  head  at 
Sedan,  leaving  extraordinary  effects,  "  was  writing  on  a  sheet  of  paper 
which  lay  on  a  pile  of  about  ten  similar  sheets.  We  quickly  drew  the  top 
sheet  away,  and  his  pen  continued  to  write  on  the  second  sheet."  The 
automatic  nature  of  the  process  proves  it  to  have  been  the  work  of  the 
passive  consciousness.  "This  process  was  repeated,  and  on  the  fifth  sheet 
there  was  nothing  but  his  signature  at  the  bottom.  Nevertheless,  he 
read  over  and  corrected  his  letter  on  this  blank  fifth  sheet,  scattering 
stops  and  corrections  over  the  empty  page,  each  of  which  corresponded 
to  mistakes  made  on  the  co-ordinate  points  of  the  pages  which  had  been 
snatched  away  from  him."  He  was,  therefore,  acting  upon  a  pictorial 
memory  of  what  he  had  written  on  the  preceding  sheets. 

A  similar  explanation  may  be  suggested  of  the  memory  of  drowning 
persons  who  on  recovery  have  repeatedly  declared  that  they  saw  the 
whole  of  their  past   lives  spread   out  before   them,  including   every 


.  Duplex  Personality.  97 

incident.1  We  may  suppose  that  when  the  active  consciousness  is 
inhibited  by  suffocation,  the  pictorial  memory  of  the  passive  conscious- 
ness is  sometimes  brought  into  prominence,  by  which  the  past  life  is 
presented  as  on  a  canvas,  so  as  to  form  one  complete  and  homogeneous 
impression.  It  is,  however,  not  only  in  such  supreme  crises  that  indica- 
tions of  the  passive  memory  are  to  be  found. 

In  counting,  for  instance,  we  usually  adopt  the  primary  method  of 
reckoning  each  unit  separately.  It  sometimes  happens,  however,  that 
in  listening  to  a  clock  striking  in  the  night  we  may  forget  to  count  the 
strokes  until  several  have  struck,  but  are  nevertheless  able  to  recover 
the  lost  ground  by  considering  them  as  one  impression,  conveying  the 
idea  of  the  correct  number  to  the  mind.  This  is  in  fact  counting  by 
groups  instead  of  units.  I  am  able  to  adopt  it  as  far  as  four,  but  other 
persons  have  told  me  that  they  can  go  as  far  as  six  or  eight.  I  conceive 
these  groups  to  be  realised  by  the  pictorial  memory  just  as  the  picture 
of  four  dots  on  a  screen  would  be  recognised  as  such  by  the  eye  without 
any  conscious  process  of  counting. 

Binet  (La  Vision  Mentale)  remarks  on  this  subject — as  the  result 
of  a  long  series  of  elaborate  experiments  upon  the  subjects  of  hysterical 
anaesthesia  :  "  Quant  a  la  complexity  des  operations  accomplies  par 
la  conscience  secondaire,  nous  en  avons  cet  exemple,  que  si  on  fait  un 
nombre  donne*  d'excitations  insensibles,  c'est  souvent  la  conscience 
secondaire  qui  les  compte,  et  la  conscience  primaire  n'en  connait  que  le 
total." 

The  remainder  of  Mr.  Barkworth's  paper  deals  with  analogies 
between  the  phenomena  of  natural  and  hypnotic  sleep  and  emotional 
stress ;  emotional  and  hypnotic  anaesthesia ;  hypersthenic  muscular 
exertion  during  hypnotic  catalepsy,  somnambulism  or  emotional  excite- 
ment ;  delusions  due  to  insanity  and  to  hypnotic  suggestion,  <fcc.  The 
apparent  submergence  of  moral  discrimination  sometimes  exhibited  in 
dreams  and  in  the  hypnotic  state  is  also  dwelt  upon  and  inferences 
drawn  from  it. 


1  Instances  of  this  are  too  numerous  to  quote.     Sinoe  this  paper  was  written  I 
have  seen  fresh  ones  mentioned  by  Du  Prel,  &c 


98  Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 


VI. 

NOTES   OF   STANCES  WITH   D.    D.   HOME. 
By  William  Crookes,  F.R.S. 

In  the  year  1874  I  published  in  a  collected  form  various  papers, 
dating  from  1870  to  1874,  describing  inquiries  made  by  myself, 
alone  or  with  other  observers,  into  the  phenomena  called  Spiritual.  In  a 
paper  reprinted  from  the  Quarterly  Journal  of  Science,  for  January, 
1874,  I  announced  my  intention  of  publishing  a  book,  which  should 
contain  my  numerous  printed  and  imprinted  observations. 

But  this  projected  work  has  never  seen  the  light.  My  excuse, — a 
real  excuse,  though  not  a  complete  justification, — lies  in  the  extreme 
pressure  of  other  work  on  my  time  and  energies.  The  chemical  and 
physical  problems  of  my  professional  life  have  become  more  and  more 
absorbing;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  few  fresh  opportunities  have 
occurred  of  prosecuting  my  researches  into  "  psychic  force,"  I  must 
confess,  indeed,  that  I  have  been  disappointed  with  the  progress  of 
investigation  into  this  subject  during  the  last  fifteen  years.  I  see  little 
abatement  of  the  credulity  on  the  one  hand  and  the  fraud  on  the  other 
which  have  all  along  interfered,  as  I  hold,  with  the  recognition  of  new 
truth  of  profound  interest. 

The  foundation  of  the  SociJfe  for  Psychical  Research  has,  however, 
somewhat  altered  the  situation.  We  have  here  a  body  of  inquirers  of 
whom  the  more  prominent,  s6  far  as  I  can  judge,  are  quite  sufficiently 
critical  in  their  handling  of  any  evidence  making  for  extraordinary 
phenomena,  while  they  bring  to  the  task  that  patience  and  diligence 
without  which  an  investigation  of  this  sort  is  doomed  to  failure. 
Invited  to  contribute  to  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research  Proceed- 
ings, some  of  my  notes  on  seances  with  D.  D.  Home,  I  feel  I  ought  not 
to  decline.  I  am  not  satisfied  with  these  notes;  which  form,  so  to 
say,  only  a  few  bricks  for  an  intended  edifice  it  is  not  now  probable 
I  shall  ever  build.  But,  at  least,  they  are  accurate  transcripts  of  facts 
which  I  still  hold  to  be  of  deep  importance  to  science.  Their  publica- 
tion will,  at  any  rate,  show  that  I  have  not  changed  my  mind ;  that 
on  dispassionate  review  of  statements  put  forth  by  me  nearly  twenty 
years  ago  I  find  nothing  to  retract  or  to  alter.  I  have  discovered  no 
flaw  in  the  experiments  then  made,  or  in  the  reasoning  I  based  upon 
them. 

I  am  too  well  aware  there  have  been  many  exposures  of  fraud  on 

the  part  of  mediums ;  and  that  some  members  of  the  Society  for 

J?sjrchical  Research  have  shown  the  possibility  of  fraud  under  circum- 


Notes  of  Stances  vrith  D.  D.  Home.  99 

stances  where  Spiritualists  had  too  readily  assumed  it  was  not  possible. 
I  am  not  surprised  at  the  evidence  of  fraud.  I  have  myself  frequently  - 
detected  fraud  of  various  kinds,  and  I  have  always  made  it  a  rule  in 
weighing  Spiritualistic  evidence  to  assume  that  fraud  may  have  been 
attempted,  and  ingeniously  attempted,  either  by  seen  or  unseen  agents. 
I  was  on  my  guard  even  in  D.  D.  Home's  case,  although  I  am  bound 
to  say  that  with  him  I  never  detected  any  trickery  or  deceit  what- 
ever, nor  heard  any  first-hand  evidence  of  such  from  other  persons. 
At  the  same  time,  I  should  never  demand  that  anyone  should  con- 
sider Home,  or  any  other  medium,  as  "  incapable  of  fraud,"  nor  should 
I  pin  my  faith  upon  any  experiment  of  my  own  or  others  which  fraud 
could  explain.  The  evidence  for  the  genuineness  of  the  phenomena 
obtained  by  Home  in  my  presence  seems  to  me  to  be  strengthened 
rather  than  weakened  by  the  discussions  on  conjuring,  and  the  ex- 
posures of  fraud  which  have  since  taken  place.  The  object  of  such 
discussions  is  to  transform  vague  possibilities  of  illusion  and  deception 
into  definite  possibilities ;  so  far  as  this  has  yet  been  done,  it  has,  I 
think,  been  made  more  clear  that  certain  of  Home's  phenomena  fall 
quite  outside  the  category  of  marvels  producible  by  sleight  of  hand 
or  prepared  apparatus. 

But  I  must  not  be  supposed  to  assert  that  all,  or  even  most  of, 
the  phenomena  recorded  by  me  were  such  as  no  juggling  could  simulate. 
Many  incidents, — as  slight  movements  of  the  table,  <fcc., — were 
obviously  and  easily  producible  by  Home's  hands  or  feet.  Such  move- 
ments, <fcc.,  I  have  recorded, — not  as  in  themselves  proving  anything 
strange, — but  simply  as  forming  part  of  a  series  of  phenomena,  some 
of  which  do  prove,  to  my  mind,  the  operation  of  that  "  new  force  " 
in  whose  existence  I  still  firmly  believe.  Had  I  described  these  seances 
with,  a  view  to  sensational  effect,  I  should  have  omitted  all  the  non- 
evidential  phenomena,  and  thus  have  brought  the  marvels  out  in 
stronger  relief.  Such  was  not  my  object.  In  most  cases  the  notes 
were  written— primarily  for  my  own  information,— while  the  phenomena 
were  actually  going  forward,  but  on  some  few  occasions  they  were 
copied  or  expanded  immediately  after  the  seance  from  briefer  notes 
taken  at  the  time.  They  are  here  reprinted  verbatim  ;  and  the  petty 
details  which  render  them  tedious  to  read  will  supply  the  reader  with 
all  the  material  now  available  for  detecting  the  imposture,  if  any, 
which  my  friends  and  I  at  the  time  were  unable  to  discover. l 

My  object  in  publishing  these  notes  will  have  been  attained  if  they 
should  aid  in  inducing  competent  observers,  in  this  or  other  countries, 
to  repeat  similar  experiments  with  accurate  care,  and  in  a  dispassionate 

1  The  note*  here  published  are  accounts  of  selected  seances,  but  in  each  ease 
selected,  the  full  account  of  the  seance  is  given. 

H.1 


100  Notes  of  Stances:  with  D.  D.  Home. 

spirit.  Most  assuredly,  so  far  as  my  knowledge  of  science  goes,  there  is 
absolutely  no  reason  a  priori  to  deny  the  possibility  of  such  phenomena 
as  I  have  described.  Those  who  assume — as  is  assumed  by  some 
popular  writers — that  we  are  now  acquainted  with  all,  or  nearly  all,  or 
even  with  any  assignable  proportion,  of  the  forces  at  work  in  the 
universe,  show  a  limitation  of  conception  which  ought  to  be 
impossible  in  an  age  when  the  widening  of  the  circle  of  our  definite 
knowledge  does  but  reveal  the  proportionately  widening  circle  of 
our  blank,  absolute,  indubitable  ignorance. 

(I.)  Wednesday,  May  9th,  1871. — Sitting  at  81,  South  Audley-street, 
(Miss  Douglas's  house).     From  9  to  11  p.m. 

Present : — Mr.  D.  D.  Home  (medium),  Miss  Douglas,  Mrs.  Gregory,  Mr. 
O.  R.,  Mr.  W.  F.,  Mrs.  W.  F.,  Mr.  Crookes. 

In  the  front  drawing-room,  at  a  loo  table  on  centre  pillar  and  three 
feet,  diameter  three  feet,  weight  321b.,  cloth  on  (occasionally  turned  up  to 
give  light  below). 

One  candle  on  table,  two  on  mantelpiece,  one  on  side  table.  Towards 
end  of  sitting  (during  the  fire  test)  the  candle  on  the  table  and  one  on 
the  mantelpiece  were  put  out.  The  others  were  alight  the  whole  time.  An 
accordion  was  on  the  table. 

A  wood  fire,  somewhat  dull,  in  the  grate. 

Temperature  very  comfortable  all  the  evening. 

Order  of  sitting : 


M9  0.R. 


D.D.HOWUEH  ®   sk     hWKW.F 


^nniss.D>       ^    M??C> 

M*. CROOKES. 


A  small  sofa  table  stood  about  two  feet  from  Miss  Douglas  and  Mr. 
Home  in  the  position  shown  in  diagram.  Miss  Douglas  commenced  by 
reading  aloud  a  few  extracts  from  Robert  Chambers's  introduction  to  Mr. 
Home's  book,  Incidents  of  my  Life. 

Phenomena. — The  table  tilted  several  times  in  four  or  five  directions  at 
an  angle  of  about  25deg. ,  and  kept  inclined  sufficiently  long  for  those  who 
wished  to  look  under  with  a  candle  and  examine  how  the  hands  of  Mr.  Home 
and  the  others  present  were  touching  it.  Sometimes  it  stood  on  two  legs, 
and  sometimes  it  was  balanced  on  one.  I,  who  had  brought  a  spring 
balance  in  my  pocket,  was  now  invited  by  Mr.  Home  to  try  an  experiment 
in  the  alteration  of  weight. 


\ 


Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home.  101 

As  it  would  have  been  inconvenient  without  disturbing  the  sitting  to 
have  experimented  on  the  total  weight  of  the  table,  the  balance  was 
hooked  under  one  edge  of  the  table,  and  the  force  required  to  tilt  it 
measured. 

Experiment  1. — "  Be  light."  An  upward  pull  of  21b.  required  to  lift  one 
of  the  feet  off  the  ground,  all  hands  lightly  touching  the  top  of  the  table. 

Experiment  2. — "Be  heavy."  As  soon  as  this  was  said,  the  table 
creaked,  shuddered,  and  appeared  to  settle  itself  firmly  into  the  floor.  The 
effect  was  as  if  the  power  of  a  gigantic  electro-magnet  had  been  suddenly 
turned  on,  the  table  constituting  the  armature.  All  hands  were,  as  before, 
very  lightly  touching  the  upper  surface  of  the  table  with  their  fingers.  A 
force  of  361b.  was  now  required  to  raise  the  foot  of  the  table  from  the  floor/ 
I  lifted  it  up  and  down  four  or  five  times,  and  the  index  of  the  balance  kept 
pretty  constant  at  361b.,  not  varying  more  than  Jib.  Whilst  this  was  going 
on,  each  person's  hands  were  noticed.  They  were  touching  the  table  so 
lightly  that  their  aggregate  downward  pressure  could  not  have  been  many 
ounces.  Mr.  Home  once  lifted  his  hands  for  a  moment  quite  off  the  table. 
His  feet  were  tucked  back  under  his  chair  the  whole  time. 

Experiments. — "  Be  light."  Conditions  the  same  as  before.  An  upward 
pull  of  71b.  required  to  tilt  the  table. 

Experiment  4. — "Be  heavy."  The  same  creaking  noise  as  in  Experiment  2 
was  again  heard.  Every  person  (except  Mr.  O.  R.  and  myself,  who  was 
standing  up  trying  the  experiment)  put  the  ends  of  the  fingers  under- 
neath the  table  top,  the  palms  being  upwards  and  the  thumbs  visible,  so  that, 
if  any  force  were  unconsciously  exerted,  it  should  tend  to  diminish  the 
weight.  At  the  same  time  Mr.  O.  R.  took  a  candle  and  stooped  under  the 
table  to  see  that  no  one  was  touching  the  legs  of  the  table  with  their  knees 
or  feet.  I  also  stooped  down  occasionally  to  verify  Mr.  O.  R.  's  statement 
that  all  was  fair  beneath.  Upon  applying  the  spring  balance,  I  saw  that 
the  table  was  pulled  up  at  451b.  Immediately  this  was  announced  I  felt 
an  increase  of  weight,  and,  after  a  few  trials,  the  pull  was  increased  to  481b., 
at  which  point  the  index  stood  steady,  the  leg  of  the  table  being  about  3in. 
off  the  floor. 

Experiment  5. — "Be  heavy."  The  conditions  were  the  same  as  before, 
a  little  more  care  being  taken  by  the  sitters  to  keep  their  feet  well  tucked 
under  their  chairs.  Hands  touching  the  under  side  of  the  table  top  as  before. 
The  index  of  the  balance  rose  steadily,  without  the  table  moving  in  the 
least,  until  it  pointed  to  461b.  At  this  point  the  table  rose  an  inch,  when 
the  hook  of  the  balance  slipped  off,  and  the  table  returned  to  its  place  with 
a  crash.  The  iron  hook  had  bent  out  sufficiently  to  prevent  it  holding  the 
table  firmly  any  longer,  so  the  experiments  were  obliged  to  be  discontinued. 

(After  the  seance  was  over,  the  normal  weight  of  the  table  was  taken.  Its 
total  weight  was  321b.  In  order  to  tilt  it  in  the  manner  described  in  the 
experiments  a  pull  of  81b.  was  required.  When  lifted  straight  up  at  three 
equi-distant  points,  the  spring-balance  being  at  one  point,  a  pull  of  101b.  was 
required.  The  accuracy  of  the  balance  could  be  depended  on  to  about  Jib., 
not  more.) 

Raps  were  heard  from  different  parts  of  the  table  and  the  floor,  and  the 
table  quivered  rapidly  several  times. 


102  Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 

Mr.  Home  appeared  slightly  convulsed  about  the  arms  and  body.  Sud- 
denly he  said  aloud,  "  Robert  Chambers  is  hore ;  I  feel  him."  Three  loud 
raps  were  immediately  heard  from  the  small  sofa  table  about  two  feet  behind 
Miss  Douglas,  and  this  table  then  slowly  glided  up  to  within  five  inches  of 
Miss  Douglas  and  Mr.  Home.  The  movement  was  very  steady  and  noiseless, 
and  occupied  about  five  seconds  in  going  the  distance  of  20  inches.  When 
it  stopped,  Mr.  Home  drew  attention  to  the  fact  that  both  his  feet  were  under 
his  chair  and  all  hands  were  on  the  table.  He  moved  a  little  nearer  to 
Mr.  O.  R.  and  turned  his  legs  and  feet  as  far  away  from  the  table  as  he 
could,  asking  the  sitters  to  make  themselves  quite  certain  that  he  could 
not  have  produced  the  movement  of  the  table.  While  this  was  being 
noticed,  the  small  table  again  moved,  this  time  slowly  and  a  quarter  of  in 
inch  at  a  time,  until  it  was  again  close  to  Mr.  Home  and  Miss  Douglas. 

A  flower  in  a  glass  standing  in  the  centre  of  the  small  table  was  moved, 
but  not  taken  out  of  the  glass. 

Mr.  Home  and  then  Miss  Douglas  said  they  felt  touched  under  the 
table.  The  sleeve  of  Miss  Douglas's  dress  was  pulled  up  and  down  several 
times  in  full  view  of  all  present.  Mr.  Home  said  he  saw  a  hand  doing  iL 
No  one  else  saw  this ;  but  Miss  Douglas  felt  a  hand,  which,  however,  was  in- 
visible, put  on  her  wrist  immediately  after. 

Mr.  Homo  held  the  accordion  under  the  table  by  one  hand,  letting  the 
keyed  end  hang  downwards.  Presently  it  commenced  to  sound,  and  then 
played  "Ye  Banks  and  Braes,"  &c.,  and  other  airs,  and  imitated  an  echo 
very  beautifully.  Whilst  it  was  playing  in  Mr.  Home's  hand  (his  other  hand 
being  quietly  on  the  table)  the  other  gentlemen  looked  under  the  table  to 
see  what  was  going  on.  I  took  particular  notice  that,  when  the  instru- 
ment was  playing,  Mr.  Home  held  it  lightly  at  the  end  opposite  the  keys, 
that  Mr.  Home's  feet  had  boots  on  and  were  both  quiet  at  some  distance 
from  the  instrument,  and  that,  although  the  keyed  end  was  rising  and  fall- 
ing vigorously  and  the  keys  moving  as  the  music  required,  no  hand,  strings, 
wires,  or  anything  else  could  be  seen  touching  that  end. 

Mr.  O.  R.  then  held  the  accordion  by  the  plain  end,  Mr.  Home  touching 
*f  ^t  l\m  same  time.  Presently  it  began  to  move  and  then  commenced  to 
play.  Mr.  Home  then  moved  his  liand  away  and  the  instrument  continued 
playing  for  a  short  time  in  Mr.  O.  R.  's  hand,  both  of  Mr.  Home's  hands 
being  then  above  the  table. 

Some  questions  were  then  asked  and  answers  were  given  by  raps  and 
notes  on  the  accordion.  The  alphabet  being  called  for  by  five  rape,  the 
following  message  was  spelled  out: — "It  is  a  glorious  truth.  It  was  the 
solace  of  my  earth  life  and  the  triumph  over  the  change  called  death.  Robert 
Chambers. " 

A  private  message  to  Miss  Douglas  was  given  in  the  same  manner. 

The  table  was  then  tilted  several  times  as  before,  and  once  rose  com- 
pletely off  the  ground  to  a  height  of  about  three  inches. 

Mr.  Home  sank  back  in  his  chair  with  his  eyes  closed  and  remained  still 
for  a  few  minutes.  He  then  rose  up  in  a  trance  and  made  signs  for  his 
eyes  to  be  blindfolded.  This  was  done.  He  walked  about  the  room 
in  an  undecided  sort  of  manner,  came  up  to  each  of  the  sitters  and  made 
some  remark  to  them.     He  went  to  the  candle  on  a  side  table  (close  to 


Notes  cf  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home.  103 

the  large  table)  and  passed  his  fingers  backwards  and  forwards  through 
the  flame  several  times  so  slowly  that  they  must  have  been  severely 
burnt  under  ordinary  circumstances.  He  then  held  his  fingers  up, 
smiled  and  nodded  as  if  pleased,  took  up  a  fine  cambric  handkerchief 
belonging  to  Miss  Douglas,  folded  it  up  on  his  right  hand  and  went  to  the 
fire.  Here  he  threw  off  the  bandage  from  his  eyes  and  by  means  of 
the  tongs  lifted  a  piece  of  red  hot  charcoal  from  the  centre  and  deposited 
it  on  the  folded  cambric  ;  bringing  it  across  the  room,  he  told  us  to 
put  out  the  candle  which  was  on  the  table,  knelt  down  close  to  Mrs. 
W.  F,  and  spoke  to  her  about  it  in  a  low  voice.  Occasionally  he  fanned 
the  coal  to  a  white  heat  with  his  breath.  Coming  a  little  further  round 
the  room,  he  spoke  to  Miss  Douglas  saying,  "We  shall  have  to  burn  a 
very  small  hole  in  the  handkerchief.  We  have  a  reason  for  this  which 
you  do  not  see."  Presently  he  took  the  coal  back  to  the  fire  and  handed 
the  handkerchief  to  Miss  Douglas.  A  small  hole  about  half  an  inch  in 
diameter  was  burnt  in  the  centre,  and  there  were  two  small  points  near 
it,  but  it  was  not  even  singed  anywhere  else.  (I  took  the  handkerchief 
away  with  me  and  on  testing  it  in  my  laboratory,  found  that  it  had  not 
undergone  the  slightest  chemical  preparation  which  could  have  rendered  it 
fire-proof.) 

Mr.  Home  again  went  to  the  fire,  and  after  stirring  the  hot  coal  about 
with  his  hand,  took  out  a  red-hot  piece  nearly  as  big  as  an  orange,  and  put- 
ting it  on  his  right  hand,  covered  it  over  with  his  left  hand  so  as  to  almost 
completely  enclose  it,  and  then  blew  into  the  small  furnace  thus  extemporised 
until  the  lump  of  charcoal  was  nearly  white-hot,  and  then  drew  my  attention 
to  the  lambent  flame  which  was  flickering  over  the  coal  and  licking  round 
his  fingers ;  he  fell  on  his  knees,  looked  up  in  a  reverent  manner,  held  up 
the  coal  in  front  and  said :  "Is  not  God  good?  Are  not  His  laws  won- 
derful ?  " 

Going  again  to  the  fire,  he  took  out  another  hot  coal  with  his  hand  and 
holding  it  up  said  to  me,  "  Is  not  that  a  beautiful  large  bit,  William  ?  We 
want  to  bring  that  to  you.  Pay  no  attention  at  present."  The  coal,  how- 
ever, was  not  brought.  Mr.  Home  said  :  "The  power  is  going,11  and  soon 
came  back  to  his  chair  and  woke  up. 

Mr.  O.  B.  left  at  11  o'clock.     After  this,  nothing  particular  took  place. 

The  following  refers  to  a  somewhat  similar  incident : — 

Extract  from  a  letter  from  Mr.  Crookes  to  Mrs.  Honeytoood,  describing  an  inci- 
dent at  a  Seance  on  April  28th,  and  incorporated  in  Mrs.  Honey  wood's 
notes  of  the  Seance. 

At  Mr.  Home's  request,  whilst  he  was  entranced,  I  went  with  him 
to  the  fireplace  in  the  back  drawing-room.  He  said,  "  We  want  you  to 
notice  particularly  what  Dan  is  doing."  Accordingly  I  stood  close  to  the 
fire  and  stooped  down  to  it  when  he  put  his  hands  in.  He  very  deliberately 
pulled  the  lumps  of  hot  coal  off,  one  at  a  time,  with  his  right  hand  and 
touched  one  which  was  bright  red.  He  then  said,  "  The  power  is  not  strong 
on  Dan's  hand,  as  we  have  been  influencing  the  handkerchief  most.  It  is 
more  difficult  to  influence  an  inanimate  body  like  that  than  living  flesh,  so,  as 
the  circumstances  were  favourable,  we  thought  we  would  &taw  ^ou  Vta»fc»  ^^ 


104  Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 

could  prevent  a  red-hot  coal  from  burning  a  handkerchief.     We  will  collect 

more  power  on  the  handkerchief  and  repeat  it  before  you.    Now !  " 

Mr.  Home  then  waved  the  handkerchief  about  in  the  air  two  or  three 

times,  held  it  up  above  his  head  and  then  folded  it  up  and  laid  it  on  his  hand 

like  a  cushion :  putting  his  other  hand  into  the  fire,  took  out  a  large  lump  of 

cinder  red-hot  at  the  lower  part  and  placed  the  red  part  on  the  handkerchief. 

Under  ordinary  circumstances  it  would  have  been  in  a  blaze.   In  about  half  a 

minute,  he  took  it  off  the  handkerchief  with  his  hand,  saying,  "  As  the  power 

is  not  strong,  if  we  leave  the  coal  longer  it  will  burn."    He  then  put  it  on 

his  hand  and  brought  it  to  the  table  in  the  front  room,  where  all  but  myself 

had  remained  seated. 

(Signed)   William  Crooxbs. 

(II.)  Monday,  Mat  22nd,  1871.— Sitting  at  81,  South  Audley-street, 
the  residence  of  Miss  Douglas.     From  9.46  to  11  p.m. 

Present: — Mr.  D.  D.  Home  (medium),  Miss  Douglas,  Mr.  B.,  Mr. 
Alfred  Russel  Wallace,  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes,  Mr.  Wm.  Crookes. 

In  the  front  drawing-room,  at  a  loo  table,  supported  on  centre  pillar  and 
three  feet.     Lighted  with  candles  the  whole  of  the  evening. 

Order  of  sitting  : — 


D.D.H 


Miss.D.t  G)     S\     rM»?W»C 


Wi  W*  0^_^M?  A.R.  W. 


The  small  sofa  table,  mentioned  in  the  account  of  the  last  seance  at  this 
house,  was  about  two  feet  behind  Miss  Douglas.  An  accordion  belonging  to 
me  was  on  the  table,  and  a  small  candlestick  and  candle. 

Phenomena. — In  a  few  minutes  a  slight  tremor  of  the  table  was  felt.  Mr. 
A.  R.  Wallace  was  touched.  Then  Mrs.  Crookes  felt  her  knee  touched  and  her 
dress  pulled.  Miss  Douglas's  dress  was  pulled,  and  I  was  touched  on  my 
right  knee  as  by  a  heavy  hand  firmly  placed  on  it. 

The  tabic  tilted  up  on  two  and  sometimes  on  one  leg  several  times,  rising 
at  the  side  opposite  each  person  successively,  whilst  all  who  wished  took  the 
candle  and  examined  underneath  to  see  that  no  one  of  the  party  was  doing 
it  with  the  feet.  Granting  that  Mr.  Home  might  have  been  able,  if  he  so 
desired,  to  influence  mechanically  the  movement  of  the  table,  it  is  evident 
that  he  could  only  have  clone  so  in  two  directions,  but  here  the  table  moved 
successively  in  six  directions. 

The  table  now  rose  completely  off  the  ground  several  times,  whilst  the 
gentlemen  present  took  a  candle,  and  kneeling  down,  deliberately  examined 
the  position  of  Mr.  Home's  feet  and  knees,  and  saw  the  three  feet  of  the 
table  quite  off  the  ground.  This  was  repeated,  until  each  observer  e: 
himself  satisfied  that  the  levitation  was  not  produced  by  mechanical 
on  the  part  of  the  medium  or  any  one  else  present. 


Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home.  105 

The  alphabet  was  now  called  for  by  five  raps.     The  letters  given  out  were 

taken  down  : — 

"We    igh— " 

Thinking  this  the  commencement  of  a  sentence  we  tried  to  get  the  next 
letter,  but  no  response  was  given.  Then  we  said  that  some  letter  had  been 
given  wrong.  One  thump  said  emphatically,  "  No."  We  then  said,  "  We 
have  got  the  first  word  '  We '  all  right,  but  we  want  the  second  word."  "  Is 
i  right?"    "Yes."     "Is  fright?"     "Yes."     "Is  h  right?"     "Yes." 

After  thinking  for  a  moment  it  suddenly  occurred  to  us  that  the  word  was 
*  'Weigh,"  and  that  it  referred  to  an  experiment  I  had  come  prepared  to 
repeat — that  of  measuring  the  variation  in  weight  of  the  table  by  means  of 
a  spring  balance. 

A  perfect  shower  of  raps  showed  that  this  interpretation  was  the  correct 
one. 

I  accordingly  repeated  the  experiments  which  were  tried  at  the  last 
sitting  at  this  house,  using  a  stronger  spring  balance. 

Experiment  1. — "Be  light."  The  table  tilted,  when  the  balance  showed 
a  weight  of  scarcely  half  a  pound. 

Experiment  2. — "Be  heavy."  The  table  now  bore  a  pull  of  201b.  before 
it  tilted  up  on  one  side,  all  hands  being  placed  under  the  top  edge  of  the 
table,  thumbs  visible. 

Experiment  3. — I  now  asked  if  the  opposing  force  could  be  so  applied  as  to 
cause  the  table  to  rise  up  off  the  ground  quite  horizontally  when  I  was  pulling. 
Immediately  the  table  rose  up  completely  off  the  ground,  the  top  keeping 
quite  horizontal,  and  the  spring  balance  showing  a  pull  of  231b.  During 
this  experiment  Mr.  Home's  hands  were  put  on  the  table,  the  others  being 
under  as  at  first. 

Experiment  4. — "Be  heavy."  All  hands  beneath  the  table  top.  It 
required  a  pull  of  431b.  to  lift  the  table  from  the  floor  this  time. 

Experiment  5. — "Be  heavy."  This  time  Mr.  B.  took  a  lighted  candle  and 
looked  under  the  table  to  assure  himself  that  the  additional  weight  was  not 
produced  by  anyone's  feet  or  otherwise.  Whilst  he  was  there  observing  I 
tried  with  the  balance  and  found  that  a  pull  of  271b.  was  required  to  lift  the 
table  up.  Mr.  Home,  Mr.  A.  R.  Wallace,  and  the  two  ladies  had  their  fingers 
fairly  under  the  top  of  the  table,  and  Mr.  B.  said  that  no  one  was  touching 
the  table  beneath  to  cause  the  increase  of  weight. 

When  these  experiments  were  finished  we  all  sat  quietly  round  the  table 
for  a  few  minutes,  when  suddenly  the  small  sofa-table  came  up  to  within 
about  six  inches  of  Miss  Douglas.  It  glided  along  with  a  quick,  steady 
movement.     It  did  not  move  again  after  it  stopped  the  first  time. 

(Just  before  I  sat  down  to  the  seance,  remembering  that  this  table  had 
moved  up  to  the-drcle  apparently  of  its  own  accord  the  last  time  we  had  a 
seance  here,  I  pushed  the  table  a  little  away  from  its  usual  place,  putting  it 
just  about  two  feet  behind  Miss  Douglas's  chair. 

I  took  notice  then  that  there  was  no  string  or  anything  else  attached  to  it. 
After  I  had  so  placed  it  no  one  else  went  near  it,  so  that  its  movement  on  this 
occasion  was  entirely  beyond  suspicion.) 

Miss  Douglas's  chair  moved  partly  round.     On  attempting  to  re\>la&fe  \t»  «& 


106  Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 

before  she  said  she  could  not  move  it,  as  it  was  firmly  fixed  to  the  floor.  I 
attempted  to  pull  it  along,  but  it  resisted  all  my  efforts. 

Mr.  Home's  chair  then  moved  several  times,  and  tilted  up  on  two  legs, 
whilst  Mr.  Home's  feet  were  up  in  the  chair  in  a  semi-kneeling  posture,  and 
his  hands  before  him  not  touching  anything. 

The  table  cloth  in  front  of  Mr.  Home  just  at  the  edge  of  the  table  was 
bulged  outwards  as  if  a  hand  were  beneath  it,  and  we  then  saw  a  movement  of 
the  cloth  as  if  fingers  were  moving  under  it. 

Mr.  Home  then  took  the  accordion  in  one  hand  in  his  usual  manner,  and 
held  it  beneath  the  table.  At  first  chords  were  sounded,  and  then  a  very 
beautiful  piece  with  bass  and  treble  was  played.  Each  of  the  gentlemen  m 
turn  looked  at  the  accordion  under  the  table  whilst  it  was  playing. 

Mr.  A.  R.  Wallace  then  asked  for  "  Home,  sweet  Home."  A  few  ban 
of  this  air  were  immediately  sounded.  He  looked  under  the  table  and  said 
he  saw  a  hand  distinctly  moving  the  instrument  up  and  down,  and  playing 
on  the  keys.  Mr.  Home  had  one  hand  on  the  table  and  was  holding  the  top 
end  of  the  accordion,  whilst  Mr.  A.  R.  Wallace  saw  this  hand  at  the  bottom 
end  where  the  keys  were. 

(III.)  Monday,  June  19th,  1871.— Sitting  at  81,  South  Audley-street 
From  9  to  11  p.m. 

Present  .—Mr.  D.  D.  Home  (medium),  Miss  Douglas,  Mrs.  Gregory,  Mr*. 
Wm.  Crookes,  Mr.  Wm.  Crookes,  Mr.  H. 

In  the  front  drawing-room  at  the  small  round  table  three  feet  in  diameter. 

Order  of  sitting,  &c.  : — 


W«C. 


M?H0ME/  \llffC. 


*\ 


\  Mlss.DA  /KI!H, 


7. — Original  position  of  small  table. 
8. — Position  where  table  (7)  was  first  taken  to. 
9. —        ,,  ,,  ,,  next        ,, 

10. — Small  table  behind  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes. 
11. — Position  where  table  (10)  was  taken  to. 

Just  before  sitting  down,  remembering  that  the  table  (7)  had  been 
moved  on  the  last  occasion,  I  went  to  it  and  pushed  it  into  the  furthest 
corner  of  the  room. 

After  sitting  for  some  little  time  we  had  raps,  and  movements  of  the 

v 


Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home.  107 

table.    I  asked  if  I  might  weigh  the  table  when  Mr.  Home  was  not  touching 
it  at  all.— "  Yes." 

Experiment  1. — I  thereupon  fixed  the  spring  balance  to  it,  and  asking 
for  it  to  be  made  heavy  tried  to  lift  it  off  the  ground.  It  required  a 
pull  of  231b.  to  raise  it.  During  this  time  Mr.  Home  was  Bitting  back  in 
his  chair,  his  hands  quite  off  the  table  and  his  feet  touching  those  on  each 
side  of  him. 

Experiment  2. — "Be  heavy "  again.  Mr.  EL  now  took  a  candle,  and 
stooping  down  looked  under  the  table  to  see  that  no  one  was  touching 
it  there,  whilst  I  was  observing  the  same  at  the  top.  Mr.  Home's 
hands  and  feet  were  the  same  as  before.  The  balance  now  showed  a  tension 
of  221b. 

Experiment  3  was  now  tried,  Mr.  Home  being  further  from  the  table. 
A  pull  of  171b.  was  required. 

Experiment  4. — When  we  said  "  Be  light,"  the  table  rose  at  121b.  On 
trying  afterwards  the  normal  pull  required  to  tilt  it,  we  found  it  to  be 
141b. 

It  was  now  proposed  to  put  out  the  candles  and  sit  by  the  light  coming  in 
from  the  windows,  which  was  quite  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  see  each  other, 
and  the  principal  articles  of  furniture  in  the  room. 

We  presently  heard  a  noise  in  the  back  drawing-room  as  if  a  man  had  got 
off  the  couch  and  was  coming  to  us.  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  said  it  came  up  to  her, 
and  she  then  felt  a  pair  of  large  hands  on  her  head,  then  on  her  shoulders 
and  on  her  back.  Her  chair  was  then  moved  partly  round  towards  Mrs. 
Gregory  away  from  Mr.  Home. 

A  noise  and  crash  as  of  something  falling  was  now  heard  behind  Mrs. 
Wm.  Crookes's  chair,  and  the  small  table  (10)  was  pressed  up  close  to  her. 
Her  chair  was  tilted  up  till  she  was  jammed  between  the  back  of  the  chair  and 
the  table  we  were  sitting  round,  and  her  chair  resisted  all  her  efforts  to  press 
it  down. 

Baps  came,  and  a  message  to  get  a  light. 

On  lighting  the  candle  it  was  seen  that  the  noise  had  been  caused  by  a 
picture  which  had  been  on  the  table  resting  against  the  wall,  falling  down  on 
to  the  floor.  It  was  uninjured.  The  table  (10)  had  been  moved  up  close  to 
Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes,  between  her  and  Mr.  Home. 

Mr.  Home  then  took  the  accordion  in  his  right  hand  in  the  usual  manner, 

and  placing  his  left  on  the  table  it  was  held  both  by  Miss  Douglas  and  Mrs. 

Wm.  Crookes.     The  light  was  then  put  out,  and  the  following  message  was 

spelt : — 

"  The  Four  Seasons.     Winter  first. " 

"  Spring.— The  Birth  of  the  Flowers." 

"  Birds  in  Summer." 

The  above  messages  were  given  whilst  the  piece  was  being  played.  It 
would  be  impossible  to  give  any  idea  of  the  beauty  of  the  music,  or  its 
expressive  character.  During  the  part  typifying  summer  we  had  a  beautiful 
accompaniment,  the  chirping  and  singing  of  the  birds  being  heard  along  with 
the  accordion.  During  autumn,  we  had  "  The  Last  Rose  of  Summer  " 
played. 


108  Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 

Home  said  that  the  spirit  playing  was  a  stranger  to  him.  It  was  a  high 
and  very  powerful  one,  and  was  a  female  who  had  died  young. 

Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  said  :  "  Is  it  my  cousin  M ?    It  has  flashed  into 

my  mind  that  it  is  she." 

Answer  by  raps  :  **  Yes." 

We  then  heard  a  rustling  noise  on  a  heliotrope  which  was  growing  in  a 
flower-pot  standing  on  the  table  between  Mr.  Home  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes.  On 
looking  round  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  saw  what  appeared  to  be  a  luminous  cloud 
on  the  plant.  (Mr.  Home  said  it  was  a  hand.)  We  then  heard  the  crackling 
as  of  a  sprig  being  broken  off,  and  then  a  message  came  : — 

44  Fotir  Ellen." 

Immediately  the  white  luminous  cloud  was  seen  to  travel  from  the  helio- 
trope to  Mrs.  Wm.  C.'s  hand,  and  a  small  sprig  of  the  plant  was  put  into  it. 
She  had  her  hand  then  patted  by  a  delicate  female  hand.  She  could  not  see 
the  hand  itself,  but  only  a  halo  of  luminous  vapour  over  her  hand. 

The  table  (7)  was  now  heard  to  be  moving,  and  it  was  seen  to  glide  slowly 

up  to  the  side  of  Miss  Douglas,  to  the  position  marked  (8),  about  three  feet. 

Miss  Douglas  cried  out, "  Oh  !  Oh  !  How  very  curious  !    I  have  had  Something 

carried  round  my  neck.  It  is  now  put  into  my  hand.    It  is  a  piece  of  heath." 

A  message  came  : — 

"  In  Memoriam." 

Mr.  Home  said,  "Count  the  number  of  flowers  on  the  sprig.  There  is 
a  meaning  in  all  this."  Eleven  were  counted.  (Mr.  Robert  Chambers  had 
eleven  children.) 

The  candle  (which  had  been  lighted  to  ascertain  this)  was  again  put  out. 
Mr.  Home  took  the  accordion  in  his  right  hand,  whilst  his  other  hand  was 
held  by  Miss  Douglas  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes.  The  others  present  also 
joined  hands.  The  accordion  played,  and  we  then  saw^^omething  white 
move  from  the  table  close  to  Miss  Douglas,  pass  behind  her  am  Mr.  Home, 
and  come  into  the  circle  between  him  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes.  It  floated  about 
for  half  a  minute,  keeping  a  foot  above  the  table.  It  touched  Mrs.  Wm. 
Crookes,  then  went  round  near  to  the  others  as  if  floating  about  with  a  cir- 
cular movement.  It  presently  settled  on  the  backs  of  Miss  Douglas's,  Mr. 
Home's,  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes's  hands,  which  were  grasped  together.     The 

message  was  given  : — 

"Light,  and  look," 

and  we  then  saw  that  the  floating  object  had  been  a  china,  card  plate  with 

cards  in  it,  which  had  previously  been  on  the  table  behind  Miss  Douglas. 

The  light  was  again  put  out,  and  we  then  heard  a  sticking  and  scraping 

along  the  floor,  and  then  a  heavy  bump  against  the  door.     Very  loud  raps 

were  then  heard  on  the  table  and  in  other  parts  of  the  room.      Movements 

of  the  table  were  felt,  and  then  all  was  quiet.      We  lighted  the  candle  and 

saw  that  the  small  table  which  had  already  moved  up  to  Miss  Douglas,  had 

travelled  right  across  the  room,  a  distance  of  nine  feet,  and,  thumping  against 

the  door,  had  produced  the  noise  we  had  all  heard. 
Nothing  else  took  place  after  this. 

(IV.)  Wednesday,  June  21st,  1871. — Sitting  at  20,  Mornington-road 
(private  residence  of  Mr.  Crookes).     From  8.40  to  10.30  p.m. 


Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 


109 


Present: — Mr.  D.  D.  Home  (medium),  Mrs.Wr.  Crook es,  Mr.Wr.  Crookes, 
Mrs.  Humphrey,  Mr.  C.  Gimingham,  Mr.  Serjt.  Cox,  Mr.  Wm,  Crookes, 
Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes,  Miss  A.  Crookes. 

In  the  dining-room  lighted  by  one  gas  burner.  Round  the  dining  table 
without  a  leaf  in  it. 

On  the  table  was  an  accordion  belonging  to  myself ;  a  long  thin  wooden 
lath  ;  a  pencil  and  some  paper ;  and  by  the  side,  partly  resting  on  the  table,  was 
an  apparatus  for  testing  alteration  in  the  weight  of  a  body.     It  consisted  of  a 


A[ 


1 


I 


n 


]B 


mahogany  board,  AB,  36  inches  long,  9  inches  wide,  and  linch  thick,  supported 
at  the  end  B  by  a  spring  balance,  and  resting  at  C  on  the  flat  stand  by  means 
of  a  wooden  fulcrum  cut  to  a  knife  edge  and  3  inches  from  the  end  A.  D  is  a 
glass  bowl  of  water,  standing  on  the  board  in  such  a  manner  that  its  weight 
partly  fell  between  the  fulcrum  C  and  the  end  B,  producing  with  the  weight 
of  the  board  a  tension  of  51b.  on  the  spring  balance.  E  is  a  hemispherical 
copper  vessel,  perforated  at  the  bottom  and  firmly  supported  on  a  massive 
iron  stand  rising  from  the  floor.  E  was  so  arranged  that  it  dipped  into  water 
in  D,  but  was  2  inches  from  D  all  round  the  circumference,  and  5£  inches 
from  the  bottom.  It  was  sufficiently  firmly  supported  to  prevent  any  knock- 
ing or  pushing  to  which  it  might  be  subjected  from  being  communicated  to 
the  glass  vessel  D  and  thence  to  the  board  and  spring  balance.  I  and  my 
assistant  had  well  tested  it  in  this  respect  beforehand.1 

Under  the  table  was  the  wire  cage  described  previously,8  and  three  Groves 
cells  were  in  connection  with  the  surrounding  wire.  A  commutator  in  the 
circuit  prevented  a  current  circulating  till  I  pressed  down  a  key. 

Phenomena. — Almost  immediately  very  strong  vibrations  of  the  table  were 
felt.  Answers  to  questions  "Yes"  and  "No"  were  given  by  these 
vibrations. 

Mr.  Home's  hands  were  contracted  in  a  very  curious  and  painful  looking 
manner.  He  then  got  up  and  gently  placed  the  fingers  of  his  right  hand  in 
the  copper  vessel  E,  carefully  avoiding  coming  near  any  other  part  of  the  appa- 
ratus. Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes,  who  was  sitting  near  the  apparatus,  saw  the  end  B 
of  the  board  gently  descend  and  then  rise  again.  On  referring  to  the  automatic 
register  it  showed  that  an  increased  tension  of  10  ounces  had  been  produced. 

Nothing  more  took  place. 


1  Compare  Quarterly  Journal  of  Science  for  October,  1871. 
*  See  Quarterly  Journal  of  Science  for  July,  1871. 


110 


Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 


(V.)  Wednesday,  June  21st,  1871. — Sitting  at  20,  Morningtam-road. 
From  10.45  to  11.45.  (This  stance  was  held  shortly  after  the  previous  one. 
We  all  got  up,  moved  about,  opened  the  windows,  and  changed  our  positions. 
Miss  A.  Crookes  then  left,  and  we  proposed  sitting  down  again.) 

Present: — Mr.  D.  D.  Home  (medium),  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes,  Mr.  Wr. 
Crookes,  Mrs.  Humphrey,  Mr.  C.  Gimingham,  Mr.  Serjt.  Cox,  Mr.  Wm. 
Crookes,  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes. 

In  the  dining-room.     The  table  and  apparatus  the  same  as  before. 

The  light  was  diminished,  but  there  was  still  light  enough  to  enable  us  to 
distinguish  each  other  plainly  and  see  every  movement.  The  apparatus  wis 
also  distinctly  visible. 

The  automatic  register  was  pushed  up  close  to  the  index  of  the  balance. 

We  sat  in  the  following  order  : — 


M?!W*C. 


D.D.H, 


M??W-C. 


M?W!C 


M'C.C. 


serct  c. 


MKH. 


A  was  a  lath  already  mentioned.1 

Almost  immediately  a  message  came,  "  Hands  off."  After  sitting  quiet  for 
a  minute  or  two,  all  holding  hands,  we  heard  loud  raps  on  the  table ;  then 
on  the  floor  by  the  weight  apparatus.  The  apparatus  was  then  moved  and 
the  spring  balance  was  heard  to  move  about  strongly.  We  then  had  the 
following  message  : — 

"  Weight  altered  a  little.     Look." 

I  then  got  up  and  looked  at  the  register.     It  had  descended  to  141b. ,  showing 
an  additional  tension  of  (14 — 5=)  91b. 

As  this  result  had  been  obtained  when  there  was  scarcely  light  enough  to 
see  the  board  and  index  move,  I  asked  for  it  to  be  repeated  when  there  was 
more  light.  The  gas  was  turned  up  and  we  sat  as  before.  Presently  tiki 
board  was  seen  to  move  up  and  down  (Mr.  Home  being  some  distance  osT 
and  not  touching  the  table,  his  hands  being  held),  and  the  index  was  seen  to 
descend  to  71b.,  where  the  register  stopped.  This  showed  a  tension  of 
7— 5=21b. 


1  See  Seance  IV. 


Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 


Ill 


Mr.  Home  now  told  us  to  alter  our  position.    We  now  sat  as  follows  : — 


MMWfC. 


M9?W«C.      SERCT  C. 


M?WfC. 


M9C.& 


1 

M?H0ME 

M?W»!»C. 


M9?H. 


A  message  was  given  : — 

44  All  hands  except  Dan's  off  the  table." 

Mr.  Home  thereupon  moved  his  chair  to  the  extreme  corner  of  the  table 
and  turned  his  feet  quite  away  from  the  apparatus  close  to  Mrs.  H.  Loud 
raps  were  heard  on  the  table  and  then  on  the  mahogany  board,  and  the 
latter  was  shaken  rather  strongly  up  and  down.  The  following  message  was 
then  given  : — 

"  We  have  now  done  our  utmost." 

On  going  to  the  spring  balance  it  was  seen  by  the  register  to  have 
descended  to  91b.,  showing  an  increase  of  tension  of  (9 — 5=)  41b. 

The  apparatus  was  now  removed  away  from  the  table,  and  we  returned  to 
our  old  places  (see  first  diagram). 

We  sat  still  for  a  few  minutes,  when  a  message  came  : — 

44  Hands  off  the  table,  and  all  joined." 

We  therefore  sat  as  directed. 

Just  in  front  of  Mr.  Home  and  on  the  table,  in  about  the  position  shown 
at  A  on  the  first  diagram,  was  a  thin  wooden  lath  23£  inches  long,  1£  inch 
wide,  and  f  inch  thick,  covered  with  white  paper.  It  was  plainly  visible  to 
all,  and  was  one  foot  from  the  edge  of  the  table. 

Presently  the  end  of  this  lath,  pointing  towards  Mr.  Wr.  Crookes,  rose  up 
in  the  air  to  the  height  of  about  10  inches.  The  other  end  then  rose  up  to  a 
height  of  about  five  inches,  and  the  lath  then  floated  about  for  more  than  a 
minute  in  this  position,  suspended  in  the  air,  with  no  visible  means  of  sup- 
port. It  moved  sideways  and  waved  gently  up  and  down,  just  like  a  piece 
of  wood  on  the  top  of  small  waves  of  the  sea.  The  lower  end  then  gently 
sank  till  it  touched  the  table  and  the  other  end  then  followed. 

Whilst  we  were  all  speaking  about  this  wonderful  exhibition  of  force  the 
lath  began  to  move  again,  and  rising  up  as  it  did  at  first,  it  waved  about  in  a 
somewhat  similar  manner.  The  startling  novelty  of  this  movement  having 
now  worn  off,  we  were  all  enabled  to  follow  its  motions  with  more  accuracy. 
Mr.  Home  was  sitting  away  from  the  table  at  least  three  feet  from  the  lath 
all  this  time ;  he  was  apparently  quite  motionless,  and  \na  Yw&ta  ^w«t* 


112 


Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 


tightly  grasped,  his  right  by  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes  and  his  left  by  Mrs.  Win. 
Crookes.  Any  movement  by  his  feet  was  impossible,  as,  owing  to  the  luge 
cage  being  under  the  table,  his  legs  were  not  able  to  be  put  beneath,  but  was 
visible  to  those  on  each  side  of  him.  All  the  others  had  hold  of  hands.  As 
soon  as  this  was  over  the  following  message  was  given  : — 

"  We  have  to  go  now  ;  but  before  going  we  thank  you  for  your  patience. 
Mary  sends  love  to  aunt,  and  will  play  another  time." 

The  seance  then  broke  up  at  a  quarter  to  twelve. 


(VI.)  Friday,  June  23rd,  1871.  Sitting  at  20,  Mornington-road.  From 
8.30  to  11  p.m. 

Present : — Mr.  D.  D.  Home  (medium),  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes,  Mr.  Wr. 
Crookes,  Miss  Bird,  Serjt.  Cox,  Mrs.  Humphrey,  Dr.  Bird,  Miss  A. 
Crookes,  Mr.  Wm.  Crookes,  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes. 

In  the  dining-room  ;  lighted  sometimes  by  one  gas  burner,  sometimes  by 
salted  spirit  lamp,  sometimes  by  light  from  street. 

The  dining-table  had  no  flap  in  it,  but  was  slightly  opened  in  the  oenta 
(about  four  inches).  On  the  table  were  the  accordion,  a  small  hand  bell, 
lath,  paper,  pencil,  phosphorus  half  under  water,  and  a  spirit  lamp  with  a 
salted  wick. 


Order  of  sitting  : — 


Miss.B 


M?W?C. 


SERCT  C. 


M»!?H. 


M*?W?C. 


M*  HOME 


¥C. 


D9B.        MlSS.A.C.       M9WMC. 


The  cloth  was  on  the  table  all  this  time. 

At  first  we  sat  with  one  gas  burner  alight. 

After  sitting  for  about  10  minutes  the  table  vibrated  strongly,  and  gave 
a  definite  number  of  vibrations  at  our  request  on  two  or  three  occasions.  It 
felt  like  a  strong,  quick  shudder  passing  through  it. 

Mr.  Home  now  took  the  accordion  in  the  usual  manner  and  held  it  under 
the  table.  It  was  presently  sounded  and  notes  played.  During  this  time 
Miss  Bird  and  Dr.  Bird  got  under  the  table  and  saw  the  movement  Tht 
gas  was  now  put  out  and  the  spirit  lamp  lighted.  The  yellow  flame  made 
everything  look  very  ghastly  and  quite  took  the  colour  out  of  Mrs.  Wnt 
Crookes's  coral  ornaments.  She  took  off  her  coral  necklace ,  and  laid  it  on  tht 
table  cloth,  just  over  the  opening  in  the  table  by  the  spirit  lamp.     In  a  short 


* 

Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home.  113 

time  something  poked  up  the  cloth  and  moved  the  corals,  repeating  the 
movement  two  or  three  times.1 

Mr.  Home  then  put  the  accordion  on  the  floor,  and  placed  both  his  hands 
on  the  table.  In  a  short  time  we  all  heard  a  movement  of  the  accordion 
under  the  table,  and  accordingly  Mr.  Home  placed  one  hand  in  Mrs. 
Wm.  Crookes's  hands,  the  other  in  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes's  hands,  and  placed 
both  his  feet  beneath  my  feet.  In  this  manner  it  was  physically  impossible 
for  him  to  have  touched  the  accordion  with  hands  or  feet.  The  lamp 
also  gave  plenty  of  light  to  allow  all  present  seeing  any  movement  on 
his  part.  The  accordion  now  commenced  to  sound,  and  then  played 
several  notes  and  bars.  Every  one  present  expressed  themselves  quite 
convinced  that  this  result  could  not  possibly  have  been  effected  by  Mr. 
Home's  agency. 

Mr.  Wr.  Crookes  now  said  that  the  accordion  was  brought  up  to  his  knees 
and  pressed  against  them.  He  put  his  hand  down  and  took  it  by  the  handle. 
It  then  played  in  his  hand,  Mr.  Home's  hands  and  feet  being  held  by  others 
as  before.  Presently  Mr.  Wr.  Crookes  said  that  the  accordion  had  left  his 
hand  (which  he  then  put  on  to  the  table).  We  could  hear  it  moving  about 
under  the  table,  and  then  it  pressed  up  against  my  knees,  and  on  putting  my 
hand  down  I  felt  the  handle  turned  into  my  hand.  I  held  it  for  a  minute 
but  it  did  not  play.  I  then  gave  it  to  Mr.  Home,  and  it  then  played 
in  his  right  hand  a  tune  which  Serjt.  Cox  had  asked  for,  "Ye  Banks 
and  Braes,"  &c. 

After  this  a  very  beautiful  piece  of  music  was  played.  It  was  remarked, 
"  This  must  be  the  music  of  the  spheres."    A  message  was  given  : — 

44  This  is." 

After  a  little  time  the  music  stopped  and  we  turned  the  light  lower,  but  still 

1  Miss  Bird  writes  : — 

I  remember  the  circumstances  stated  in  this  stance.  I  had  noticed  that  the 
necklace  worn  by  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  looked  green.  I  asked  her  why  her  beads 
were  green.  She  assured  me  they  were  her  corals,  and  to  convince  me  the 
necklace  was  passed  into  my  hands.  Instead  of  passing  the  necklace  back  I  simply 
put  it  opposite  me  in  the  middle  of  the  table.  Almost  as  soon  as  I  had  placed  the 
necklace  it  rose  in  a  spiral  shape.  I  called  out  eagerly  to  my  brother,  Dr.  Bird, 
to  look  at  the  extraordinary  conduct  of  the  threaded  corals,  and  whilst  I  was 
endeavouring  to  get  his  attention  the  erect  necklace  quietly  subsided  in  a  coil  on  the 
table.  I  have  often  recalled  the  incident,  and  although  a  sceptic  by  instinct,  this  one 
strange  experience  has  made  it  impossible  for  me  to  doubt  the  assertions  of  others 
whose  judgment  is  clear  and  whose  uprightness  is  above  suspicion. 

October.  1889.  Alice  L.  Bird. 

To  this  Br.  Bird  adds  :— 

I  recollect  my  sister  calling  out  to  me,  "  Look,  look,  at  the  necklace,"  but  at  that 
moment  my  attention  was  directed  elsewhere,  and  I  did  not  actually  see  the  pheno- 
menon in  question.  Gboroe  Bird. 

At  the  moment  this  occurred  I  was  writing  my  notes  and  only  caught  sight  of  the 
necklace  as  it  was  settling  down  from  its  first  movement.  It  made  one  or  two  slight 
movements  afterwards,  and,  as  I  state,  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  it  had  been  moved  from 
below.  I  mentioned  this  at  the  time  and  was  then  told  by  Miss  Bird  and  others  that 
the  necklace  had  behaved  as  is  now  described  by  her.  Not  having  seen  it  myself  I 
did  not  alter  the  statement  in  my  note-book.  W.  CBOMLia. 


114  Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 

keeping  enough  to  enable  us  to  see  plainly  all  that  was  going  on.  The  music 
commenced  again  strongly,  and  then  Mr.  Home  brought  the  accordion  orer 
the  top  of  the  table  and  held  it  opposite  to  Dr.  Bird.  We  then  all  saw  it  con- 
tracting and  expanding  vigorously,  and  heard  it  emitting  sounds,  Mr.  Home 
part  of  this  time  supporting  the  instrument  on  his  little  finger  tip  by  menu 
of  a  string  I  had  tied  round  the  handle. 

Serjt.  Cox  held  a  flower  under  the  table  with  the  request  that  it 
might  be  taken  and  given  to  a  lady.  It  was  soon  taken  from  his  hand,  and 
after  a  considerable  time,  when  the  circumstance  was  almost  forgotten, 
a  white  object  was  laid  on  the  edge  of  the  table,  between  Miss  Bird  and 
Mr.  Wr.  Crookes,  and  she  said  her  dress  was  pulled  very  much.  As  the 
object  moved  about  it  was  seen  to  be  Serjt.  Cox's  flower.  The  message 
then  came : — 

"  We  gave  it  you.     A  flower." 

Mr.  Home  then  went  into  a  trance,  spoke  a  little  to  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes  m 
a  low  tone,  and  then  got  up.  He  walked  about  the  room  in  an  undecided 
sort  of  way,  but  finally  sat  down  again,  saying  it  all  felt  confused,  and  then 
woke. 

A  message  was  then  given  : — 

"Hands  off  the  table." 

We  accordingly  removed  our  hands  and  joined  hands  all  round.  In  a  minute 
a  slight  movement  of  my  note-book  was  heard,  and  I  could  see  that  a  volume 
(Incidents  in  my  Life),  which  was  resting  on  the  leaves  to  keep  them  down, 
was  gradually  sliding  over  it  in  jerks  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  at  a  time. 
The  motion  was  visible  to  all  present  and  the  noise  was  also  plainly  heard  by 
everyone.  Nothing  more  than  this  took  place,  and  we  soon  had  the 
message  : — 

"  We  find  we  have  no  more  power." 

The  meeting  then  broke  up. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  evening  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes,  who  was  sitting 
near  Mr.  Home,  felt  her  hands  and  arm  constantly  touched  and  stroked, and 
the  form  of  fingers  was  for  some  time  moving  about  under  the  cloth  close  to 
her.  These  wore  felt  by  myself  and  Miss  A.  Crookes,  and  our  hands  were 
patted  by  them  at  our  request.  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  also  saw  a  delicate 
finger  and  thumb  playing  about  a  rose  in  Mr.  Home's  coat  and  plucking  the 
petals  one  at  a  time  and  laying  some  on  the  table  by  her  side  and  giving 
others  to  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes.  Three  times  she  saw  an  entire  hand  rise  up 
and  pass  quite  over  her  own  hands,  which  were  on  the  table.  It  was  small, 
plump,  and  delicately  shaped,  ending  at  the  wrist  in  a  cloud. 

At  another  time  luminous  appearances  were  seen  on  Mr.  Home's  heed 
and  before  his  face.  All  present  saw  so  much,  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  said 
they  were  hands. 

(VII.)     Sunday,  July  16th,  1871.— Sitting  at  20,  Mornington-road. 

Present: — Mr.  D.  D.  Home  (medium),  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes,  Mr.  Wr. 
Crookes,  Mrs.  Humphrey,  Mr.  Wm.  Crookes,  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes. 


Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 


115 


In  the  following  order  : — 


M9W9C. 


MffR 


M?*WSC. 


M?  HOME 


12 


M?W¥C. 


M«W-C. 


7—Is  a  bouquet  of  flowers  which  my  wife  and  I  had  brought  from 
Brook  Green  this  evening.  They  had  been  given  to  the  servant  to  arrange, 
and  were  brought  into  the  room  and  put  on  the  table  after  we  had  all  sat 
down  and  the  seance  had  commenced. 

8— Is  the  part  of  the  crack  in  the  table  subsequently  referred  to. 

9— Is  the  wooden  wand.  10 — Is  a  sheet  of  note-paper.  11 — Is  a 
penciL 

At  the  first  part  of  the  seance  the  phonautograph  l  was  on  the  table  in 
front  of  Mr.  Home,  and  I  sat  or  stood  at  position  12. 

On  this  occasion  I  asked  for  the  spirits  not  to  rap  on  the  membrane,  but 
to  press  on  it  as  in  the  experiment  to  make  the  board  light  and  heavy. 

This  was  accordingly  done,  and  10  tracings  of  curves  were  taken  on  the 
smoked  glass  : — 

No.  1. — Mr.  Home's  hand  on  edge  of  drum. 

No.  2.  (  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes's  fingers  on  edge  of  drum,  and  Mr.  Home's 

No.  3.  \  hands  touching  hers. 

No.  4. — Mr.  Home's  fingers  on  edge  of  drum. 

No.  5. — Mr.  Home's  fingers  on  support  not  touching  the  drum. 

No.  6. — Mr.  Home's  fingers  touching  the  membrane.  On  looking  at  this 
I  remarked  that  this  curve  might  have  been  produced  by  pressure  of  the 
fingers.     The  message  was  then  given  : — 

44  Hands  off  table." 

No.  7. — Mr.  Home's  hands  on  the  table,  no  one  else  touching  it. 

No.  8. — Mr.  Home's  hand  held  over  the  parchment,  fingers  pointing 
downwards  quite  still. 

No.  9. — The  same  as  No.  8. 

No.  10. — Mr.  Home's  fingers  touching  stand  ;  not  touching  the  drum  or 
parchment. 

After  taking  these  tracings  the  phonautograph  was  removed,  and  we  sat 
down  quietly  in  the  positions  shown  on  diagram.     The  room  was  sufficiently 


1  For  a  description  of  the  phonautograph  see  Quarterly  Journal  of  Science  for 
Octobw,  1871. 

1  % 


116  Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 

lighted  by  means  of  two  spirit  lamps  with  soda  flames  placed  on  the  top  of 
the  gaselier. 

After  a  few  minutes  the  wooden  wand  moved  a  little  on  the  table,  gently 
sliding  along.  It  then  raised  itself  up  at  one  end  and  then  fell  down  again. 
Next  it  lifted  up  sideways  and  turned  half  over.  It  continued  moving  about 
in  this  manner  for  several  minutes.  Mr.  Home  said  he  saw  a  hand  over  the 
lath  moving  it  about.     No  one  else  saw  the  hand. 

The  flowers  in  the  bouquet  were  moved  and  rustled  about  several  times. 

A  message  was  then  given,  the  answers  being  sometimes  given  by  raps 
on  the  table  and  sometimes  by  the  wand  rising  up  and  striking  the  table 
three  times  in  rapid  succession  : — 

"A  prayer." 

Mr.  Home  took  the  accordion  in  the  usual  manner  and  we  then  were 
favoured  with  the  most  beautiful  piece  of  music  I  ever  heard.  It  was  very 
solemn  and  was  executed  perfectly  :  the  "fingering"  of  the  notes  wai 
finer  than  anything  I  could  imagine.  During  this  piece,  which  lasted  for 
about  10  minutes,  we  heard  a  man's  rich  voice1  accompanying  it  in  one  corner 
of  the  room,  and  a  bird  whistling  and  chirping. 

Mr.  Home  then  held  his  hand  over  the  bouquet  and  shook  it  (his  hand) 
with  a  rapid  quivering  movement. 

I  asked  if  the  pencil  would  be  taken  and  a  word  written  on  the  paper 
before  our  eyes.  The  pencil  was  moved  and  lifted  up  two  or  three  times,  but 
it  fell  down  again.  The  lath  moved  up  to  the  pencil  and  seemed  trying  to 
help  it,  but  it  was  of  no  use. 

A  message  was  given  : — 

"  It  is  impossible  for  matter  to  pass  through  matter  ;  but  we  will  show 
you  what  we  can  do." 

We  waited  in  silence.  Presently  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  said  she  saw  a 
luminous  appearance  over  the  bouquet.  Mr.  Wr.  Crookes  said  he  saw  the 
same,  and  Mr.  Home  said  he  saw  a  hand  moving  about. 

A  piece  of  ornamental  grass  about  15  inches  long  here  moved  out  of  the 
bouquet,  and  was  seen  to  slowly  disappear  just  in  front  at  the  position  (8)  on 
the  plan,  as  if  it  were  passing  through  the  table. 

Immediately  after  it  had  disappeared  through  the  table  Mrs.  Win.  Crookes 
saw  a  hand  appear  from  beneath  the  table,  between  her  and  Mr.  Home, 
holding  the  piece  of  grass.  It  brought  it  up  to  her  shoulder,  tapped  it  against 
her  two  or  three  times  with  a  noise  audible  to  all,  and  then  took  the  grasi 
down  on  to  the  floor,  where  the  hand  disappeared.  Only  Mrs.  Wm.  Crocket 
and  Mr.  Home  saw  the  hand  ;  but  we  all  saw  the  movements  of  the  piece  of 
grass,  which  were  as  I  have  described. 

It  was  then  told  us  that  the  grass  had  been  passed  through  the  division  in 
the  table.  On  measuring  the  diameter  of  this  division  I  found  it  to  be  barely 
1th  inch,  and    the  piece  of  grass  was  far  too  thick  to  enable  me  to  force  it 

1  See  incident  on  p.  122. 


Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home.  117 

through  without  injuring  it.     Yet  it  passed  through  the  chink  very  quietly 
and  smoothly  and  did  not  show  the  least  signs  of  pressure. 

The  message  was  then  given  by  notes  on  the  accordion  : — 

4  *  God  bless  you.     Good  night. " 

A  parting  tune  was  then  played  on  the  accordion,  and  the  seance  then 
broke  up  at  half -past  11. 

(Yin.)  Sunday,  July  30th,  1871.    Sitting  at  20,  Momington-road. 

Present: — Mr.  D.  D.  Home,  Mr.  Wm.  Crookes,  Mrs.  Win.  Crookes, 
Mrs.  Humphrey,  Mr.  Wr.  Crookes,  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes,  Mrs.  I.,  Miss  A. 
Crookes,  Mr.  H.  Crookes,  Mr.  T.,  and  at  11  p.m.  Lord  A. 

In  the  dining-room  round  the  dining-table. 

During  the  former  part  of  the  evening  the  gas  was  lighted  ;  during  the 
latter  part  the  room  was  illuminated  by  two  spirit  lamps. 

The  first  experiment  tried  was  the  alteration  of  the  weight  of  the  board 
by  means  of  the  improved  apparatus',  by  which  the  movements  are  registered 
on  smoked  glass.  In  order  to  meet  Mr.  G.  's  objection  the  short  end  of 
the  board  was  firmly  supported  on  a  foot  (A)  in  such  a  manner  that  no  amount 


B 


k\      U 


of  pressure  of  the  hands  at  (B)  produced  any  appreciable  movement  of  the 
long  end.  The  adjustments  were  made  and  well  tested  by  myself  before  Mr. 
Home  entered  the  room. 

I  took  Mr.  Home's  two  hands  and  placed  them  myself  in  the  proper 
position  on  the  board,  the  tips  of  his  fingers  being  (at  B)  just  half-way  from 
the  extremity  to  the  fulcrum.  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes,, who  was  sitting  next  to 
Mr.  Home,  and  by  the  side  of  the  apparatus,  watched  his  hands  the  whole 
time,  and  I  also  watched  him  whilst  the  plate  of  glass  was  moving.  Six  plates 
were  tried  and  good  results  obtained.  The  experiments  were  not  tried 
directly  one  after  the  other,  but  when  all  was  ready  Mr.  Home  generally 
told  me  when  to  set  the  clock  going,  saying  that  he  felt  an  influence  on  the 
mttrument  or  that  he  saw  a  spirit  standing  near.  On  one  or  two  occasions 
loud  raps  were  heard  on  the  board,  and  the  signal  to  set  the  clock  going  was 
given  at  my  request  by  three  raps.  The  board  sometimes  swayed  sideways 
as  well  as  vertically. 

During  the  progress  of  one  of  these  experiments  the  chair  in  which  I 
had  been  sitting,  which  was  standing  near  the  apparatus,  was  seen  to  move 
op  close  to  the  table. 

The  register  of  the  index  showed  a  maximum  pull  of  21b. 


118 


Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 


The  apparatus  was  removed,  and  we  took  our  seats  round  the  table  in  the 
following  positions : — 


WM. 

MIW9C. 

M*H.C. 

MlSS.A.C. 

M9?H. 

M«fW9C. 


MID.D.HHE. 


HV9W9C. 


M»W«C.         M*T. 


L9A. 

(WIIN II 

CAME  AT 

ILP.Y.) 

Baps  occurred  in  different  parts  of  the  table  when  I  placed  my  hands 
there.  Raps  were  then  given  on  the  wooden  lath  when  Mr.  Home  had 
hold  of  one  end. 

The  accordion  was  held  by  Mr.  Home  in  the  usual  position  under  the 
table.  Whilst  it  played  Mrs.  I.  looked  beneath  and  saw  it  playing.  Mr. 
Home  removed  his  hand  altogether  from  it,  and  held  both  hands  above  the 
table.  During  this  Mrs.  I.  said  she  saw  a  luminous  hand  playing  the 
accordion. 

The  gas  was  now  turned  out,  and  three  spirit  lamps  were  lighted. 

Loud  raps  were  heard,  and  the  planchette  moved  across  a  sheet  of  paper, 
leaving  a  mark  with  the  pencil. 

The  lath  moved  some  inches. 

The  accordion,  which  had  been  left  by  Mr.  Home  under  the  table,  now 
began  to  play  and  move  about  without  anyone  touching  it.  It  dropped 
on  to  my  foot,  then  dragged  itself  away,  playing  all  the  time,  and  went  to 
Mrs.  I.     It  got  on  to  her  knees. 

Mr.  Home  then  took  it  in  his  hand,  where  it  played,  and  delivered  the 
following  message  by  chords  in  the  usual  way  : — 

"  Our  joy  and  thankfulness  to  have  been  allowed  to  make  our  presence 
manifest.  Wo  thank  you  for  your  patience  and  we  thank  GOD  for  His 
love." 

Mr.  Home  got  up  and  stood  behind  in  full  view  of  all,  holding  the 

accordion  out  at  arm's  length.    We  all  saw  it  expanding  and  contracting  and 

hoard  it  playing  a  melody.      Mr.  Home  then  let  go  of  the  accordion,  which 

went  behind  his  back  and  there  continued  to  play ;  his  feet  being  visible 

and  also  his  two  hands,  which  were  in  front  of  him. 


Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home.  119 

Mr.  Home  then  walked  to  the  open  space  in  the  room  between  Mrs.  I.'s 
chair  and  the  sideboard  and  stood  there  quite  upright  and  quiet.  He  then 
said,  "I'm  rising,  I'm  rising"  ;  when  we  all  saw  him  rise  from  the  ground 
slowly  to  a  height  of  about  six  inches,  remain  there  for  about  10  seconds,  and 
then  slowly  descend.  From  my  position  I  could  not  see  his  feet,  but  I 
distinctly  saw  his  head,  projected  against  the  opposite  wall,  rise  up,  and  Mr. 
Wr.  Crookes,  who  was  sitting  near  where  Mr.  Home  was,  said  that  his  feet 
were  in  the  air.  There  was  no  stool  or  other  thing  near  which  could  have 
aided  him.  Moreover,  the  movement  was  a  smooth  continuous  glide  upwards. 

Whilst  this  was  going  on  we  heard  the  accordion  fall  heavily  to  the 
ground.  It  had  been  suspended  in  the  air  behind  the  chair  where  Mr.  Home 
had  been  sitting.     When  it  fell  Mr.  Home  was  about  10ft.  from  it. 

Mr.  Home  still  standing  behind  Mrs.  I.  and  Mr.  Wr.  Crookes,  the 
accordion  was  both  seen  and  heard  to  move  about  behind  him  without  his 
hands  touching  it.  It  then  played  a  tune  without  contact  and  floating  in  the 
air. 

Mr.  Home  then  took  the  accordion  in  one  hand  and  held  it  out  so  that  we 
could  all  see  it  (he  was  still  standing  up  behind  Mrs.  I.  and  Mr.  Wr.  Crookes). 
We  then  saw  the  accordion  expand  and  contract  and  heard  a  tune  played. 
Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  and  Mr.  Home  saw  a  light  on  the  lower  part  of  the 
accordion,  where  the  keys  were,  and  we  then  heard  and  saw  the  keys 
clicked  and  depressed  one  after  the  other  fairly  and  deliberately,  as  if  to 
show  us  that  the  power  doing  it,  although  invisible  (or  nearly  so)  to  us,  had 
full  control  over  the  instrument. 

A  beautiful  tune  was  then  played  whilst  Mr.  Home  was  standing  up 
holding  the  accordion  out  in  full  view  of  everyone. 

Mr.  Home  then  came  round  behind  me  and  telling  me  to  hold  my  left 
arm  out  placed  the  accordion  under  my  arm,  the  keys  hanging  down  and  the 
upper  part  pressing  upwards  against  my  upper  arm.  He  then  left  go  and  the 
accordion  remained  there.  He  then  placed  his  two  hands  one  on  each  of  my 
shoulders.  In  this  position,  no  one  touching  the  accordion  but  myself,  and 
every  one  noticing  what  was  taking  place,  the  instrument  played  notes  but 
no  tune. 

Mr.  Home  then  sat  down  in  his  chair,  and  we  were  told  by  raps  to  open 
the  table  about  an  inch  or  an  inch  and  a-half. 

Mr.  T.  touched  the  point  of  the  lath,  when  raps  immediately  came  on  it. 

The  planchette,  which  was  on  the  table  resting  on  a  sheet  of  paper,  now 
moved  a  few  inches. 

Sounds  were  heard  on  the  accordion,  which  was  on  the  floor,  not  held  by 
Mr.  Home. 

The  corner  of  the  paper  next  to  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  (on  which  the  plan- 
chette was  standing)  moved  up  and  down.  (These  three  last  phenomena  were 
going  on  simultaneously.) 

I  felt  something  touch  my  knee;  it  then  went  to  Mrs.  I.,  then  to  Miss 
A.  Crookes. 

Whilst  this  was  going  on  I  held  the  bell  under  the  table,  and  it  was  taken 
from  me  and  rung  round  beneath.  It  was  then  given  to  Mrs.  I.  by  a  hand 
which  she  described  as  soft  and  warm. 

The  lath  was  now  seen  to  move  about  a  little. 


120  Notes  of  SAinces  with  D.  D.  Home. 

Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  saw  a  hand  and  fingers  touching  the  flower  in  Mr. 
Home's  button-hole.  The  flower  was  then  taken  by  the  hand  and  given  to 
Mrs.  I.  and  the  green  leaf  was  in  a  similar  manner  given  to  Mr.  T. 

Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  and  Mr.  Home  saw  the  hand  doing  this,  the  others 
only  saw  the  flower  and  leaf  moving  through  the  air. 

Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  held  a  rose  below  the  table  ;  it  was  touched  and  then 
taken. 

The  sound  as  of  a  drum  was  heard  on  the  accordion. 

The  lath  lifted  itself  up  on  its  edge,  then  reared  itself  upon  one  end  andfell 
down.  It  then  floated  up  four  inches  above  the  table,  and  moved  quite 
round  the  circle,  pointing  to  Mrs.  Win.  Crookes.  It  then  rose  up  and  passed 
over  our  heads  outside  the  circle. 

The  planchette  moved  about  a  good  deal,  marking  the  paper. 

The  cloth  was  dragged  along  the  table. 

Whilst  the  lath  was  moving  round  the  circle,  the  accordion  played  a  tune 
in  Mr.  Home's  hand  whilst  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes's  hand  was  also  on  it. 

Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  put  her  hand  near  the  lath,  when  it  came  up  to 
it,  and  moved  about  it  very  much. 

The  paper  on  which  the  planchette  was  resting  moved  about  us  as  if  by  a 
hand.  Many  present  saw  a  hand  doing  it.  (Mr.  Home  and  Mrs.  Wm. 
Crookes  saw  this  hand.) 

Mr.  H.  Crookes  saw  a  luminous  hand  come  up  between  Mr.  Home  and 
Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes. 

Some  time  during  the  evening  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes's  handkerchief,  which 
had  been  in  her  pocket,  was  taken  out  of  it  by  a  hand. 

I  saw  something  white  moving  about  in  the  further  corner  of  the  room 
(diagonal  to  door)  under  a  chair.  On  my  remarking  this,  a  message  was 
given  by  raps  : — 

"William!  take  it." 

On  getting  up  and  taking  it  I  saw  that  it  was  my  wife's  pocket  handker- 
chief tied  in  a  knot,  and  having  the  stalk  of  the  rose  which  had  been  taken 
from  her  tied  up  in  it.  The  place  where  I  picked  up  the  handkerchief 
was  fifteen  feet  from  where  she  had  been  sitting. 

A  glass  water  bottle  which  was  on  the  table  now  floated  up  and  rapped 
against  the  planchette. 

Mr.  Home  said  :  "  I  see  a  face.    I  see  Philip's  face.    Philip  !  Brother !  w 

The  water  and  tumbler  now  rose  up  together,  and  we  had  answers  to 
questions  by  their  tapping  together  whilst  floating  in  the  air  about  eight 
inches  above  the  table,  and  moving  backwards  and  forwards  from  one  to  the 
other  of  the  circle. 

Mr.  H.  Crookes  said  a  hand  was  tickling  his  knee. 

A  finger  was  protruded  up  the  opening  of  the  table  between  Miss  A. 
Crookes  and  the  water  bottle. 

Miss  A.  Crookes,  Mr.  H.  Crookes,  and  Mrs.  I.  were  then  touched. 

Fingers  came  up  the  opening  of  the  table  a  second  time  and  waved  about 

The  lath,  which  on  its  last  excursion  had  settled  in  front  of  the  further 
window,  quite  away  from  the  circle,  now  moved  along  the  floor  four  or  five 
times  very  noisily.     It  then  came  up  to  Mr.  T.,  and  passed  into  the  circle 


Notes  of  Siances  with  D.  D.  Home. 


121 


over  his  shoulder.  It  settled  on  the  table  and  then  rose  up  again,  pointing 
to  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes's  mouth. 

The  lath  then  went  to  the  water  bottle  and  pushed  it  several  times  nearly 
over,  to  move  it  away  from  the  opening  in  the  table.  The  lath  then  went 
endways  down  the  opening. 

The  tumbler  moved  about  a  little. 

The  lath  moved  up  through  the  opening  in  the  table  and  answered  "Yes" 
and  "  No  "  to  questions,  by  bobbing  up  and  down  three  times  or  once. 

A  hand  was  seen  by  some,  and  a  luminous  cloud  by  others,  pulling  the 
flowers  about  which  were  in  a  stand  on  the  table.  A  flower  was  then  seen  to 
be  carried  deliberately  and  given  to  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes. 

Another  flower  was  taken  by  the  hand  and  brought  over  to  Mrs.  Wm. 

Crookes ;  it  was  dropped  between  her  and  Mr.  Home. 

Raps  then  said  : — 

"We  must  go." 

The  raps  then  commenced  loudly  all  over  the  room  and  got  fainter  and 
fainter  until  they  became  inaudible. 
The  seance  then  broke  up. 

(IX.)  Saturday,  November  25th,  1871. — Sitting  at  20,  Mornington- 
road.    From  9.15  p.m.  to  11.30  p.m. 

Present:—  Mr.  D.  D.  Home  (medium),  Mrs.  Home,  Miss  Douglas,  Mrs. 
Humphrey,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes,  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes,  Miss  Crookes, 
Mr.  C.  Gimingham. 

In  the  dining-room  round  the  dining- table  ;  no  leaf  in. 


M?  C!C. 


M??H0ME 


MISS.A.C. 


MlSS.D. 


M9?W!C. 


M9D.0.HOME 


Nff*W.¥Ck 


M?5H. 


M?W¥C, 


On  the  table  were  two  glass  troughs  of  flowers  ;  accordion  ;  paper  ;  plan- 
chette  ;  some  marked  pieces  of  paper  ;  pencils  ;  handbell ;  spirit  lamps  ; 
matches,  &c.    A  cloth  was  on.     The  lath  was  on  the  table. 

There  was  a  good  fire  in  the  room,  which,  however,  got  low  towards  the 
end  of  the  sitting,  and  a  gas  light  was  burning  during  the  greater  part  of  the 
time.  When  that  was  put  out  there  was  still  light  enough  in  the  room  from 
the  fire  and  the  street  to  enable  us  to  distinguish  each  other,  and  see  the 
objects  on  the  table. 


122  Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 

We  had  scarcely  sat  down  a  minute  when  raps  were  heard  from  different 
parte  of  the  table  ;  a  strong  vibration  of  our  chairs  and  the  table  was  felt, 
and  sounds  like  thumps  on  the  floor  were  heard.  A  curious  metallic  tapping 
sound  was  heard  on  the  iron  screw  of  the  table. 

A  message  : — "Selfish"  in  reply  to  a  remark  I  made. 

A  rustling  was  heard  on  the  table,  and  one  of  the  glass  flower  troughs  was 
seen  to  move  along  by  jerks,  till  it  had  travelled  about  two  inches  and  had 
got  a  little  on  to  a  large  sheet  of  paper.  This  movement  continued  whilst  all 
were  watching  it.     Mr.  Home's  hands  were  quiet  in  front  of  him. 

The  wooden  lath  was  then  seen  to  slide  an  inch  or  so  backwards  and 
forwards. 

Mr.  Home  took  the  accordion  in  the  usual  manner,  holding  it  under  the 
table.  It  immediately  began  to  sound.  Mr.  Home  then  brought  it  from 
under  the  table  (he  said  it  appeared  to  move  of  its  own  accord,  dragging  his 
hand  after  it),  playing  all  the  time,  and  at  last  held  it  hanging  down  at  the 
back  of  his  chair  in  a  very  constrained  attitude,  his  feet  being  under  the 
table  and  his  other  hand  on  the  table.  In  this  position  the  instrument 
played  chords  and  separate  notes,  but  not  any  definite  tune.  The  sounds  on 
it  became  louder  and  the  table  began  to  vibrate  ;  this  got  stronger  and 
stronger  until  the  noise  of  the  accordion  playing  simple  chords  was  very 
great,  whilst  the  table  actually  jumped  up  and  down  keeping  accurate  time 
with  the  music.  This  became  so  violent  that  it  might  have  been  heard  all 
over  the  house.     It  ceased  suddenly  and  in  a  minute  recommenced. 

Miss  Douglas  said :  "  Dear  spirits,  how  pleased  you  would  have  been 
had  you  lived  to  witness  the  progress  Spiritualism  is  now  making."  Imme- 
diately a  message  was  given  in  reply  : — 

44  We  are  not  dead!" 

Mr.  Home  brought  the  accordion  back  to  under  the  table,  when  it  sounded 
notes  again.  There  was  a  sound  as  of  a  man's  bass  voice1  accompanying  it. 
On  mentioning  this,  one  note,  "No,"  was  given,  and  the  musical  bar  re- 
peated several  times  slowly,  till  we  found  out  that  it  was  caused  by  a  peculiar 
discord  played  on  a  bass  note.  On  finding  this  out  the  instrument  burst  out 
with  its  usual  jubilant  bar. 

Miss  Douglas  saying  that  she  felt  touched,  I  asked  if  we  might  get  some 
direct  writing.  Two  raps  were  given.  I  asked  Miss  Douglas  to  put  the 
marked  sheets  of  paper  and  pencil  under  the  table  by  her  feet,  and  requested 
that  something  might  bo  written  on  it. 

Three  raps. 

The  power  now  seemed  to  go  to  the  lath  ;  it  was  lifted  up  several  times 
at  alternate  ends  to  a  height  of  several  inches  and  then  floated  quite  above 
the  table. 

The  planchette  moved  irregularly  along  the  paper,  making  a  mark  with 

the  pencil. 

Some  of  those  who  were  present  said  they  saw  a  luminous  hand  touching 

the  paper.     I  saw  the  paper  raised  up  at  the  side  away  from  Mr.  Home. 

I  felt  touched  strongly  on  the  knee  by  something  feeling  like  fingers.    On 

1  See  incident  on  p.  116. 


Notes  of  S&mces  with  D.  D.  Home.  123 

putting  my  hand  down  a  sheet  of  paper  was  put  into  it.  I  said,  "Is  any- 
thing written  on  it  ?  " 

"Yea," 

It  being  too  dark  to  see  what  was  written,  I  asked  that  it  might  be 
told  me  by  raps,  and  on  repeating  the  alphabet  I  got  the  following : — 

* '  Rctojdourdanie. ' ' 

On  striking  a  light  the  following  was  seen  neatly  written : — 

R.  C.  to  J.  D. 
Our  Daniel. 

Miss  Douglas  said  the  B.  C.  was  Robert  Chambers,  whilst  J.  D.  were  the 
initials  of  her  own  name. 

As  the  paper  was  a  sheet  I  had  marked  and  it  was  free  from  any  writing 
when  put  under  the  table,  whilst  no  one  had  moved  from  the  table  in  the 
meantime,  this  was  as  striking  a  manifestation  as  I  had  ever  seen. 

Mrs.  Home,  who  for  some  time  past  had  said  a  hand  was  holding  her  hand, 
now  said  that  the  hand  was  under  her  dress.  Each  of  us  in  turn  went  round 
and  felt  it.  To  me  it  felt  very  small  and  I  could  not  distinguish  any  form 
which  I  could  be  certain  was  a  hand.  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes,  who  went  next, 
said  it  was  at  first  very  small  but  it  seemed  to  grow  large  as  she  felt  it  until 
it  was  exactly  like  a  large  hand,  the  knuckles  and  fingers  being  very  distinct. 
The  hand  remained  with  Mrs.  Home  for  half  an  hour  at  least.  On  asking  for 
the  name  of  the  hand  which  had  held  hers,  the  name 

"Alexandrine  " 
was  spelt  out. 

A  sound  like  the  snapping  of  fingers  was  heard.  On  speaking  of  this  it 
was  repeated  at  our  request  in  different  parts  of  the  room. 

The  wooden  lath  which  was  lying  just  in  front  of  me  appeared  to  move 
slightly,  whereupon  I  leaned  forward  and  watched  it  intently.  It  rose  up 
about  half  an  inch,  then  sank  down,  and  afterwards  turned  up  on  one  end 
till  it  was  upright,  and  then  descended  on  the  other  side  till  it  touched  one 
of  Mr.  Home's  hands.  One  end  remained  all  the  time  on  the  table  whilst 
the  other  end  described  a  semicircle.  The  movement  was  very  deliberate. 
The  lath  then  moved  away  from  Mr.  Home's  hands  and  laid  itself  across  the 
planchotte.  Both  it  and  the  planchette  moved  slightly.  The  lath  then  moved 
off  and  stood  quite  upright  on  the  table.     It  then  slowly  descended. 

The  accordion,  which  had  been  for  some  time  quiet  under  the  table,  now 
was  heard  to  sound  and  move  about.  Presently  Miss  Douglas  felt  it  come 
to  her  and  push  against  her  knees. 

The  window  curtains  at  the  end  of  the  room  furthest  from  the  door,  and 
seven  feet  from  where  Mr.  Home  was  sitting,  were  seen  to  move  about. 
They  opened  in  the  centre  for  a  space  of  about  a  foot,  exactly  as  if  a  man  had 
divided  them  with  his  hands.  Mr.  Home  said  he  saw  a  dark  form  standing 
in  front  of  the  window  moving  the  curtains,  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  and 
Mr.  C.  Gimingham  also  said  they  saw  a  shadow  of  a  form.  The  form  was 
then  seen  to  go  behind  one  curtain  and  move  it  outwards  into  the  room  for 
a  distance  of  about  18  inches.     This  was  repeated  several  times. 

The  wooden  lath  now  rose  from  the  table  and  rested  one  end  on  my 
knuckles,  the  other  end  being  on  the  table.     It  then  rose  up  and  t&^od  tm& 


124 


Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 


several  times.  Questions  which  I  put  were  answered  "  Tea  "  or  "  No,"  in 
this  manner.  I  said,  "Do  you  know  the  Morse  alphabet?"  "Yea." 
"  Could  you  give  me  a  message  by  it  ?  "  "  Tea."  As  soon  as  this  was 
rapped  out  the  lath  commenced  rapping  my  knuckles  in  long  and  short  taps, 
in  a  manner  exactly  resembling  a  "  Morse  "  message.  My  knowledge  of  the 
code  and  of  reading  by  sound  is  not  sufficient  to  enable  me  to  say  positively 
that  it  was  a  message  ;  but  it  sounded  exactly  like  one;  the  long  and  short 
taps  and  the  pauses  were  exactly  similar,  and  Mr.  C.  Gimingham,  who  has 
had  practice  with  the  Morse  code,  feels  almost  certain  that  it  was  so. 

Afterwards  at  my  request  the  Morse  alphabet  was  given  distinctly  by  taps 
on  the  table.  During  this  time  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  was  standing  on  the  other 
side  of  the  table  by  Mrs.  Home.  Her  chair  between  me  and  Mr.  Home 
was  empty  and  I  could  see  Mr.  Home's  hands  resting  quietly  on  the  table 
in  front  of  him. 

Mr.  Home  went  into  a  trance,  and  addressed  several  of  us  in  turn* 

The  seance  ended  at  about  11.30  p.m. 

(X.)  Tuesday,  April  16th,  1872.— Sitting  at  20,  Momington-roacL 
From  8.50  p.m. 

Present: — Mr.  D.  D.  Home  (medium),  Mr.  Serjt.  Cox,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wm.  Crookes,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes,  Mrs.  Humphrey,  Mr.  F.  G.,  in 
the  following  order : — 

M9-C. 


M?W?C. 


SERCTC. 


M«??H. 


M99WSC. 


M9D.D.H0IE, 


M«fWVC. 


M?  W¥  C. 

On  the  table  were  flowers,  an  accordion,  a  lath,  a  bell,  paper,  and 
pencils. 

Phenomena.—  Creaks  were  heard,  followed  by  a  trembling  of  the  table 

and  chairs. 

The  table  gently  moved  from  Mr.  Wr.  Crookes  to  Mr.  Home. 

Raps  were  heard  on  different  parts  of  the  table. 

Mr.  F.  G.  was  under  the  table  when  the  movements  were  going  on. 
There  was  vibration  and  knocks  on  the  floor.  The  table  moved  six  inches 
from  Mr.  F.  G.  to  me  ;  and  there  was  a  strong  trembling  of  the  table. 

A  shower  of  loud  ticks  by  Mr.  F.  G.  was  heard,  and  thumps  as  of  a  foot 

on  the  floor. 

The  table  trembled  twice  at  Mr.  F.  G.'s  request ;  then  twice  and  a  third 
tune  after  an  interval.     This  was  done  several  times. 


Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home.  125 

The  table  became  light  and  heavy,  Mr.  F.  G.  tested  it,  and  there  was 
no  mistake. 

There  were  strong  movements  of  the  table  when  Mr.  F.  G.  was  under  it. 
Mr.  Home's  chair  moved  back  six  inches. 

The  accordion  was  taken  by  Mr.  Home  in  the  usual  manner  and  sounded. 
Mr.  F.  G.  looked  under,  whilst  it  was  expanding  and  contracting. 
We  were  speaking  of  the  music,  when  a  message  was  given  : — 

"  It  comes  from  the  heart.    A  hymn  of  praise." 

After  which  beautiful  sacred  music  was  played. 

The  bell  was  taken  from  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes,  and  tinkled  under  the  table 
for  some  time.     It  was  thrown  down  close  to  Mr.  F.  G.,  who  took  it. 

The  accordion  laid  down  under  the  table  by  Serjt.  Cox  and  played  a  few 
notes,  when  all  hands  were  on  the  table.  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  put  her  feet  on 
Mr.  Home's.  A  big  hand  pushed  Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes 's  feet  away.  The 
accordion  played  and  then  pushed  into  Mr.  F.  G.'s  hand.  Mr.  F.  G.  held  it 
for  some  time,  but  there  was  no  sound,  and  it  was  given  to  Mr.  Home. 

Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes's  dress  was  pulled  round,  while  Mr.  F.  G.  was  looking 
on.    Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes  put  her  feet  touching  Mr.  F.  G.'s. 

The  accordion  played  in  Mr.  Home's  hands.  He  said  he  felt  a  touch,  on 
which  there  were  five  raps,  and  a  message  came  :— 

"  We  did." 

"  The  Last  Rose  of  Summer  "  was  played  exquisitely.  Mr.  Home  then  put 
the  accordion  down.  There  was  quietness  for  a  minute,  followed  by  move- 
ments of  the  table,  and  a  message  was  given  : — 

41  We  have  no  more  power." 

(XL)  Sunday,  April  21st,  1872. — Sitting  at  24,  Motcombe-street.  The 
residence  of  my  brother,  Mr.  Walter  Crookes. 

Present: — Mr.  D.  D.  Home  (medium),  Mrs.  Douglas,  Capt.  C,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes. 

In  the  drawing-room,  round  the  centre  table. 


M*  W*  C. 


CAPTC 


IRfWfG; 


MQD.D.HOME. 


»D. 


Phenomena : — Strong  vibrations  of  the  cabinet  behind  Mr.  Horns  \  coa- 


126  Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 

tinuous  raps  on  the  table  :  very  strong  vibrations  of  the  cabinet.     Then  a 
long  silence.     Mr.  Home  went  to  the  piano. 

On  his  return  the  vibrations  recommenced ;  then  there  were  powerful 
raps  on  the  table  in  front  of  me. 

There  were  thumps  on  the  table  and  then  on  the  floor. 

I  was  touched  on  the  knee. 

I  was  touched  again  on  the  knee.  The  table  then  rattled  about  so 
violently  that  I  could  not  write. 

Mr.  Home  took  the  accordion  in  the  usual  manner.     It  played  a  tune. 

Mrs.  Douglas's  handkerchief  was  taken  from  her  lap  by  a  hand  visible  to 
her  and  Mr.  Home,  the  accordion  playing  beautifully  all  the  time.  A 
message  was  given  : — 

44  Try  less  light" 

The  handkerchief  moved  about  along  the  floor,  visible  to  all. 

Mr.  Home  nearly  disappeared  under  the  table  in  a  curious  attitude,  then 
he  was  (still  in  his  chair)  wheeled  out  from  under  the  table  still  in  the  same 
attitude,  his  feet  out  in  front  off  the  ground.  He  was  then  sitting  almost 
horizontally,  his  shoulders  resting  on  his  chair. 

He  asked  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes  to  remove  the  chair  from  under  him  as  it 
was  not  supporting  him.  He  was  then  seen  to  be  sitting  in  the  air  sup- 
ported by  nothing  visible. 

Then  Mr.  Home  rested  the  extreme  top  of  his  head  on  a  chair,  and  his 
feet  on  the  sofa.  He  said  he  felt  supported  in  the  middle  very  comfortably. 
The  chair  then  moved  away  of  its  own  accord,  and  Mr.  Home  rested  flat  over 
the  floor  behind  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes. 

A  stool  then  moved  up  from  behind  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes  to  between  her 
and  Mr.  Home. 

Mr.  Home  then  got  up,  and  after  walking  about  the  room  went  to  a  large 
glass  screen  and  brought  it  close  up  to  me,  and  opened  it  out  thus  :— 


Mr.  Home  then  put  his  hands  on  the  screen,  and  we  had  raps  on  the 
glass.     (The  gas  was  turned  brightly  up  during  these  experiments.) 


Notes  of  Stances  with  D.  D.  Home. 


127 


Then  Mr.  Home  put  his  hand  on  one  leaf  of  the  screen,  and  I  put  my 
hand  where  I  chose  on  the  other  leaf.    Haps  came  from  under  my  hand. 

The  screen  was  then  put  thus  : — 


Mr.  Home  stood  behind  the  screen  and  had  the  gas  light  shining  full  on 
him.  He  rested  his  two  hands  lightly  on  the  top  of  the  centre  leaf  of  the 
screen.  In  this  position  we  had  the  table  cloth  moved,  raps  on  the  table  in 
front  of  the  screen,  and  raps  on  the  glass  leaves  (either  one  at  request).  A 
lady's  dress  was  pulled,  and  the  chairs  were  shaken. 

The  screen  was  then  folded  up  and  laid  horizontally  on  two  chairs,  so  as 
to  form  a  glass  table.  Mr.  Home  sat  at  one  side  and  I  sat  at  the  other  side, 
by  ourselves.  The  light  was  very  good,  and  the  whole  of  his  legs  and  feet 
were  easily  seen  through  the  screen. 

Many  experiments  were  then  tried  on  this  glass  table.  Raps  came  from 
it  at  my  request  where  I  desired.  It  was  vibrated  ;  and  once  raps  came  when 
Mr.  Home  was  not  touching  it. 

The  light  was  then  lowered  and  the  screen  put  aside. 

The  cushion  from  the  sofa  floated  off  it  and  came  between  Mr.  Home  and 
Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes. 

Mr.  Home  took  the  accordion,  and  it  played  "  Auld  Lang  Syne." 

Someone  was  seen  standing  behind  Mrs.  Wra.  Crookes. 

Mrs.  Wm.  Crookes  had  severe  pain  in  her  head.  Mr.  Home  came  behind 
her  and  mesmerised  her,  and  the  pain  went. 

A  message  came  to  Mrs.  Wr.  Crookes. 

Nothing  more  took  place  after  this. 


128  Experiments  in  Tliougkt-Tran&ference. 


VIL 

EXPERIMENTS  IN  THOUGHT-TRANSFERENCE, 
By  Professor  and  Mrs.  H.  Sidgwick,  and  Mr.  G.  A.  Smith. 


The  experiments  in  thought-transference  about  to  be  described  have 
been  carried  out  with  four  different  percipients  while  in  the  hypnotic 
trance,  Mr.  Smith,  who  hypnotised  them,  being  the  agent.  The 
experiments  were  usually  directed  and  arranged  by  Mrs.  Sidgwick,  who 
also  took  the  notes  which  form  the  basis  of  the  present  paper.  On  two 
or  three  occasions,  however,  she  was  absent  and  her  place  was  taken 
by  Professor  Sidgwick,  who  was  also  present  on  most  other  occasions 
in  July  and  August. 

Most  of  the  experiments  were  in  the  transference  of  numbers  of 
two  digits,  Mr.  Smith  looking  at  the  numbers  and  the  percipient 
guessing  them.  The  number  of  experiments  of  this  nature  tried  with 
Mr.  Smith  in  the  same  room  as  the  percipient  was  644,  of  which 
131  were  successes  ;  and  the  number  tried  with  Mr.  Smith  in  another 
room  was  228,  of  which  only  9  were  successes.  In  these  numbers  an 
experiment  in  which  two  percipients  were  at  work  -at  the  same  time  is 
counted  as  two.  By  a  success  we  mean  that  both  digits  are  correctly 
given,  but  not  necessarily  placed  in  the  right  order.  Of  the  131 
successes  with  Mr.  Smith  in  the  same  room  the  digits  were  reversed  in 
14  ;  and  of  the  9  successes  with  Mr.  Smith  in  a  different  room  the  digits 
were  reversed  in  1.  We  had  no  numbers  above  90  among  those  we 
used.  If  the  percipients  had  been  aware  of  this  the  probability  of  their 
guessing  the  right  digits  in  the  right  order  in  one  trial  by  pure  chance 
would  have  been  1  to  81,  and  the  probability  of  their  guessing  the  right 
digits  in  any  order  half  that.  But,  as  at  different  times  they  guessed 
all  the  numbers  between  90  and  100, we  believe  that  they  were  not  aware 
that  our  series  stopped  at  90,  in  which  case  their  chance  of  being  right 
in  a  single  guess  was  1  to  90.  No  one  will  suppose  therefore  that  117 
complete  successes  in  664  guesses  was  the  result  of  chance.  Good  days 
and  bad  days  alike  are  included  in  the  numbers  given,  though,  as  will 
be  seen  in  the  sequel,  on  some  days  no  success  at  all  was  obtained.  It 
was  clear  that  the  power  of  divining  the  numbers  was  exceedingly  vari- 
able, but  whether  the  difference  was  in  the  agent  or  the  percipient  or  on 
what  circumstances  it  depended  we  have  so  far  been  unable  to  discover. 

Eight  persons,  at  least,  besides  Mr.  Smith,  tried  to  act  as  agents, 
but  either  failed  to  hypnotise  the  percipients,  or  to  transfer  any  impres- 


Experiments  in  Thought-Tmnsference. 


129 


sion.  Nor  did  others  succeed  in  transferring  impressions  when  the 
hypnotic  state  had  been  induced  by  Mr.  Smith.  Mr.  Smith  himself 
did  not  succeed  except  when  the  percipients  were  hypnotised. 

We  shall  give  in  full  the  account,  written  at  the  time,  of  the  first 
day's  experiments  with  each  of  the  percipients — not  because  these 
experiments  are  the  most  conclusive,  or  were  carried  out  under  the  best 
conditions,  but  because  they  give  perhaps  more  insight  than  others 
into  the  impressions  of  the  percipients,  who  were  more  lively  and  . 
interested  in  the  matter  while  it  was  new  to  them.  We  do  not  profess 
to  give  every  remark  made ;  Mrs.  Sidgwick  had  not  time  to  take  down 
all  that  was  said,  but  she  believes  that  she  recorded  all  that  was 
important. 

The  first  subject  with  whom  any  success  was  obtained  was  a  Mr. 
W.,  a  clerk  in  a  shop,  aged  probably  about  twenty-one  or  twenty- 
two.  Mr.  Smith  had  hypnotised  him  on  three  previous  occasions, 
twice  in  public,  and  once  in  private,  but  had  not  tried  thought- 
transference  experiments  with  him  before.  The  last  occasion  on 
which  he  had  been  hypnotised  was  on  June  13th,  1889,  on  which 
occasion  we  had  tried  experiments  of  a  different  kind  with  him. 
He  is  a  very  sensitive  hypnotic  subject,  but  to  all  appearance 
a  normal  and  healthy  young  man,  somewhat  athletic.  Between  June 
13th  and  July  4th  thought-transference  was  attempted  with  several 
subjects  in  vain.  On  July  4th  Mr.  W.  came  to  Mr.  Smith's  house 
again,  and  after  some  other  experiments,  it  was  for  the  first  time 
tried  with  him.  First  we  tried  him  in  guessing  colours,  pieces  of 
coloured  paper  gummed  on  to  cards  being  used.  Mr.  W.'s  eyes  were 
apparently  closed ;  Mr.  Smith  sat  in  front  of  him,  facing  him  and 
holding  the  card  up  with  its  back  to  him.  We  feel  practically  certain 
that  Mr.  W.  could  not  see  the  colour  normally.  After  each  guess  Mr. 
Smith  said,  "  Now  we'll  do  another,"  whether  the  colour  was  changed 
or  not. 

The  following  series  was  obtained  : — 


REAL  COLOUR. 

Orange 

OftiHv  •••  •••  •••  •  •  • 

Oulilv  •••  •»»  •••  •  •  • 

Same  colour,  but  another  shape. 

Emerald  Green       

Black 
Rod 

AJa  Uv        •••  •  •  •  •»•  ••• 

Orange 
Brown 


»» 


MR.  W.'S  GUESSES  AND  REMARKS. 

"  Red." 

"Red." 

"Red,  they're  all  red." 

44  The  same." 

"  Pretty  nearly  the  same.' 

"  Same  colour — red." 

*  *  Same.    They're  all  alike. ' 

"  That  one's  different — a  kind  of 

blue." 
"About   the  same  red  colour  as 

you  had  before." 
"  You  had  that  colour  just  now — 

that  blue." 


»* 


130 


Experiments  in  ThoughJt'Tra/nsference. 


REAL  COLOUR. 

^^lCv\/  IV  •  •  •  •  •  • 

Emerald  Green 
xCed    ...        ... 

Yellow 


i  •  •  •  •  i 


MR,  W.'S  GUESSES  AKD  REMARKS. 

"  Same  as  last— blue." 

"  Haven't  seen  that  one  before — 

sort  of  green." 
"  An  old  colour— one  of  those  red 

ones." 
"Bluified." 


Up  to  the  seventh  attempt  it  appeared  as  though  he  were  simply 
describing  the  red '  light  through  his  closed  eyelids,  but  after  that 
there  seemed  to  be  some  success,  and  we  were  encouraged  to  try 
further.  We  determined  to  try  numbers.  Mr.  Smith  sat  in  the  same 
position  as  before  and  Mrs.  Sidgwick  wrote  numbers  on  cards  and 
handed  them  to  him. 


NUMBER  LOOKED  AT. 

7 
4 
3 


MR.  W.'S  GUESSES  AND  REMARKS. 
"6" 
"4" 

"9" 


At  this  point  Mr.  W.  was  told  that  there  would  be  two  figures 
and  the  numbers  belonging  to  a  "  sixty  n  puzzle  were  used,  and  drawn 
at  random  so  as  to  avoid  bias. 


15 

24 

11 

20 


"  16  " 
"24" 


"  That's  got  only  one  figure,  1." 
"  20  " 


Mr.  Smith  now  moved  to  a  place  behind  Mr.W.'s  chair,  and  for  still 
further  precaution  against  the  possibility  of  Mr.  W.  seeing  anything, 
the  number  was — after  the  first  minute  or  two  of  the  first  experiment 
that  follows  (which  took  a  long  time) — placed  in  a  match-box  held  in 
the  palm  of  Mr.  Smith's  hand.  We  give  remarks  made  by  Mr.  Smith 
as  well  as  Mr.  W. 


7    S. :  "  Do  you  see  this 


figure?" 


16 
23 


W.  :  "I  hardly  see  it"  "  It's  not 
one  figure  I  can  see."  "It 
looks  like  6." 

"  16  " 

"  18  " 


Aiter  this  numbers  taken  out  of  a  pile  of  them  written  on  scraps 
of  card  were  used. 


24 

37    S.  :  "  Do  you  see  this  ?  " 

S.  :  "Yes.    Do  you  see 
any  more  ?  " 
32    S.  :  "  Now  then,  Mr.  W., 
here's  another  one." 
S.  :  "  Here  it  is." 


«< 


24" 


W. 


"Where!"  (Pause.)    "I  see 
him  now — a  3." 


W.  :  "  No. 


»> 


W.  :  "Where?" 

W.  dropped  off  into  a  deeper  state. 


Experiments  in  Thaugkt-Tramference. 


131 


MR.  W.'S  GUESSES  AND  REMARKS. 


W.  :  "12,  isn't  it?" 

W.  :  "The  2, 1  think." 
W. :  "I  can't  see."     (Pause.) 
think  it's  a  3." 


NUMBER  LOOKED  AT. 

S.  :  "Mr.  W.,  don't  go  to 

sleep"  (roused  him). 
S.  :  "  Which  figure  looks 

most  distinct  ? " 
S. :  "  Yes.       Then    look 

again  at  the  other. 

Are  you  sure  it's  a  1  ?  " 
S.  :  "  Well,  then,  what's 

the  number  ?  "  W.  :  "  Why,  it's  82." 

Then  after  a  moment  or  two  he  suddenly  awoke  of  himself.  It  was 
interesting  to  watch  the  gesture  and  look  of  intelligence  with  which  he 
said  "  Oh  I  see  it,"  when  he  realised  the  number — sometimes  almost 
instantly.  Mr.  W.  promised  to  return  on  another  day  but  did  not  do 
so,  and  we  have  had  no  further  opportunity  of  experimenting  with 
him.1 

As  will  be  perceived  the  above  experiments  were  improvised,  and 
we  were  not  provided  with  suitable  numbers.  Before  the  next 
attempt  we  procured  a  bag  full  of  numbers  belonging  to  a  game  of 
Loto,  and  drew  the  numbers  out  of  the  bag.  The  bag  contained  all 
the  double  numbers  up  to  90.  The  numbers  were  stamped  in  raised 
figures  on  little  round  wooden  blocks  and  were  coloured  red — the  sur- 
rounding wood  being  uncoloured.  We  give  facsimiles  as  to  form  of  some 
of  these  blocks,  so  that  our  readers  may  have  what  means  there  are  of 
judging  whether  it  was  the  image  of  the  number  or  the  idea  of  it  in 
Mr.  Smith's  mind  that  was  effective.  We  may  remark  here  that  Mr. 
Smith  believes  himself  to  have  the  power  of  vivid  visualisation. 


On  July  5th,  Mr.  T.,  a  clerk  in  the  telegraph  office,  came  to  be 
hypnotised.  He  is  a  young  man  aged  about  19,  who  has  been  very 
frequently  hypnotised  by  Mr.  Smith,  and  with  whom  many  of  Mr. 
Gurney's  experiments  described  in  Proceedings,  Vol.  V.,  were  tried. 
We  had  tried  some  thought-transference  experiments  of  a  different 
kind  with  him  in  the  winter  and  spring — Mr.  Smith  silently  willing 
him  to  hear  or  not  to  hear  certain  sounds  or  questions  addressed  to 


1  He  wrote  the  following  post-card : — 

"Dear  Sir, — Having  considered  the  matter  over,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
this  mesmerism  does  me  no  good  (although  it  may  do  me  no  harm),  and  also  it  is  no 
interest  nor  benefit  to  me,  but  rather  to  you  all,  so  therefore  you  will  not  expect  to  see 
me  this  evening." 

YL  1 


132 


Experiments  in  Tliought-Transferenee. 


NUMBER  DRAWN. 

61 

•  •  ■ 

T. 

84 

•  ■  * 

T. 

47 

•  •  • 

T. 

32 

... 

T. 

him1 — but  the  success  of  these  was  not  very  marked,  and  they  are  not 
experiments  of  which  it  is  very  easy  to  estimate  the  value  unless  they 
succeed  every  time.  We  think  it  hardly  worth  while  giving  any  detail 
about  them  here. 

On  July  5th,  after  some  experiments  of  another  nature,  we  tried  a 
series  of  31  guesses  of  numbers  of  two  digits  drawn  from  the  Loto  bag, 
above  described.  They  were  drawn  out  by  Mr.  Smith  between  his  finger 
and  thumb,  which  effectually  concealed  the  figures,  and  placed  in  a  little 
box,  about  an  inch  deep,  which  he  held  in  his  hand  with  its  back  to 
T.  TVs  eyes  were  apparently  closed,  and  he  kept  his  head  very  still, 
and  we  ascertained  by  experiment  that  he  would  have  had  to  move  it 
several  feet  to  see  the  number.  The  impression  sometimes  came  to  him 
quickly,  and  sometimes  slowly — as  the  remarks  recorded  show.  He 
was  only  told  that  he  was  to  see  numbers  of  two  figures. 

NUMBER  GUESSED  AND  REMARKS. 
"26. 

"  A  3  and  a  2, 1  believe— 32. " 

"  Is  it  0  ?— 0  2  ;  it  can't  be  that ! " 

"  Looks  like  1 — can't  see  the  first  figure— 1 
think  it's  a  6—61." 

"  11,  isn't  it?  two  ones."    S.  :  "  Have  a  good 
look."    T.  :  "11." 

"  Seems  like  2  ;  25,  is  it?" 

"I  believe  it  is  1  and  0." 

"  Can't  see  anything."  S. :  "You'll  see  it  in  a 
minute."  T.:  "  There's  a  6,  and,  I  believe, 
a  2— 26,  I  think." 
"No"  (meaning  that  he  saw  nothing). 
S. :  "  You'll  see  it  in  a  minute."  T.  :  "No, 
can't  see  it    .    .     .     Believe  it  is  14. M 

"  I  see  a  3 ;  there  are  three  of  them — 147." 

"That's  61,  I  think." 

"  No,  I  can't  see— can't  see  that."  S.  :  "Wait 
a  minute."  (Pause.)  "Do  you  see  them 
now? "  T. :  "  No,  I  can't."  (A  long  pause.) 
T.  :  "A  funny  thing  that  is — a  mixture, 
5,  8— looks  like  a  3  or  an  8—3, 1  think." 

"4,  0,1  think." 

"Is  it  2?"  S. :  "Well?"  T.  :  "2,  3,  I 
think."  S.  :  "Sure  about  the  3?" 
T.  :  "Yes."  (After  a  pause,  the  number 
having  been  meanwhile  put  back  in  the 
bag.)  "Oh,  yes,"  as  if  he  got  surer  and 
surer. 

1  For  a  full  description  of  other  experiments  of  this  kind  see  Proceeding*  VoL  I. 
p.  256,  Vol.  II.  p.  14-17. 

There  is  an  account  in  the  Jtcvuc  tic  VHt/pnotisme  for  March,  1889,  of  some  rather 
similar  experiments  by  Dr.  Mesnet  which  may,  perhaps,  be  explained  by  thought- 
transference,  though  as  there  was  contact  between  him  and  his  patient,  it  is  difficult  to 


80 

21 
18 
56 


59 


37 
61 
33 


T. 

T. 
T. 
T. 


T. 


T. 
T. 
T. 


40 

21 


T. 
T. 


Experiments  in  Thought-Transference. 


133 


NUMBER  DRAWN. 

47 

•  •  • 

T. 

60 

•  •  • 

T. 

74 
22 

38 
45 


59 


66 
21 

83 

80 

73 


83 

21 

Not  noted. 

to    our 


T. 

T. 

T. 
T. 


T. 


T. 
T. 

T. 

T. 
T. 


NUMBER  GUESSED  AND  REMARKS. 

"Isita5?     SandS." 

"6,  that's  all."  S.  :  "Are  you  sure  there's 
nothing  more  ?  "    T.  :  «« Oh,  yes,  61." 

"  Is  it  a  4  ?  "  "  There's  a  4  and  a  7.  No,  it's 
not     Oh,  dear  no,  it's  5,  I  think— 54." 

"  It's  20."  (Pause,  obviously  trying  after  the 
second  digit)     "22." 

"It's  5  and    .    .    .    35." 

"I  see  nothing  at  all."  (Pause.)  "No,  I 
can't  see  it  What  makes  it  so  long  in 
coming  ?  Now  I  can  see  it.  It's  a  4  and  5." 

"What  makes  them  so  long  coming?  I  see 
something  like  a  2.  It's  a  2— Oh,  it's  a  9 ; 
I  think  29."  S. :  "  Are  you  sure  about  the 
first  one?"    T.  :  "Yes,  29." 

"  Oh,  yes ;  it's  two  sixes." 

"  Oh,  it's  a  1  and  a  2,  21.  Ain't  there  a  lot 
of  them  ! " 

"Is  it  3?"  S. :  "  Well,  what  else?"  T.  : 
"Nothing  else." 

"  It's  80."    S. :  "  That's  right" 

.  .  .  such  a  lot  of  numbers  as  this."  (T. 
spoke  very  low  and  drowsily,  and  Mrs. 
Sid g wick  failed  to  catch  the  beginning  of 
this  sentence.)  S.  :  "Yes,  when  we're 
looking  for  them."  (Pause.)  S.  :"What 
are  you  looking  at?"  T.  :  "Nothing.' 
S.  :  "I  thought  you  said  you  saw  a  lot  of 
figures?"  T.  :  "A  *3  to  the  right  I 
believe  there's  an  8."  S.  :  "Are  you 
sure  ?  "  T.  :  "  Yes  ;  693."  (S.  said  there 
were  only  two  figures.)  S.  :  "You  must 
have  seen  the  6  twice  over,  once  reversed  as 
9."  (Possibly  the  idea  of  three  figures 
was  due  to  Mr.  Smith's  remark  about  a  lot 
of  figures. ) 


(t 


"85." 
"24." 


T.  :  "3,  I  think— 83."     S.  :  "Sure?"     T.  :  "Oh, 
no,  it's  reversed  38. " 


According 
recollection 
afterwards,  the  guess 
was  partly  right 

Possibly  the  idea  of  its  being  reversed  may  have  arisen  from  Mr. 
Smith's  remark  above  about  6  being  seen  reversed  as  9 — a  remark 
which  had  puzzled  T.  at  the  time.  We  asked  T.  how  the  numbers 
looked  when  he  saw  them.  He  said,  "They're  a  kind  of  a  white — grey- 
ish-white."    He  had  not  seen  the  numbers  used  in  his  waking  state. 


feel  sure  that  unconscious  indications  were  excluded.  Dr.  Mesnet  held  the  hypnotised 
person's  hand  and  she  heard  or  did  not  hear  a  friend  of  Dr.  Mesnet  speaking  to  her 
according  as  the  latter  touched  Dr.  Mesnet 's  other  hand  out  of  her  a\£Yi\.  at  Tisft. 


4  Experiments  in  Tliought- Transference. 

JUBER  DRAWN.  NUMBER  GUESSED  AND  WHAMS. 

S3  T. :  "A  6  and  a  4."   (After  a  pause.)    "95." 

78  T.:  "38."    S.  :  "Sure?"    T.  :  "Yea." 

On  the  following  day,  July  6th,  1889,  we  tried  similar  experiments 
with  Mr.  P.,  a  clerk  in  a  wholesale  business,  aged  about  19,  who  had 
also  been  very  frequently  hypnotised  by  Mr.  Smith,  and  who  was  also 
one  of  the  subjects  in  Mr.  Gurney's  experiments  described  in  Proceed' 
ingSy  Vol.  V.  He  can  now  be  hypnotised  very  quickly  by  Mr.  Smith, 
though  he  was  difficult  to  hypnotise  at  first,  and  he  exhibits  the 
peculiarity  that  his  eyes  turn  upwards  as  he  goes  off  before  the  eyelids 
close.  He  is  a  lively  young  man,  fond  of  jokes,  and  with  a  good  deal 
of  humour,  and  preserves  the  same  character  in  the  sleep-waking  state. 
The  positions  of  agent  and  percipient  and  other  conditions  were  the 
same  as  on  the  previous  day. 

87  S. :   "Now,  P.,  you're  going  to  see  numbers.     I 

shall  look  at  them,  and  you  will  see  them." 
P.  (almost  immediately):  "87.  You  asked 
me  if  I  saw  a  number.  I  see  an  8  and  a  7." 
(Number  put  away.)  P.:  "I  see  nothing 
now." 

19  P.:  "18.    What  are  those  numbers  on  ?    I  sec  only 

the  letters  like  brass  numbers  on  a  door ; 
nothing  behind  them." 

24  P.  (after  a  pause) :"  I  keep  on  looking.    ...    I 

see  it !  an  8  and  a  4 — 84." 

85  P.  :  "A  3  and  a  5—85."     S.  :    "How  did  that 

look  ?"    P.  :  "  I  saw  a3  and  a  5,  then  35." 

28  P.:  "88.     One  behind  the  other,  then  one  popped 

forward,  and  I  could  see  two  eights."  (Illus- 
trated it  with  his  fingers. ) 

20  P.  :  "I  can't  see  anything  yet."    S.  :  "  You  will 

directly."  P.:  "23."  S.  :  "Saw  that 
clearly?"  P.:  "Not  so  plain  as  the 
other."  S.  :  "Which  did  you  see  best!" 
P.  :  "The  2." 

27  P. :   "  I  can  see  7,  and  I  think  a  3  in  front  of  it.    I 

can  see  the  7."  S.  :  "Make  sure  of  the 
first  figure."    P.  :  "  The  7's  gone  now." 

48  S. :  "Here's  another  one,  P."  (This  remark,  though 

not  always  recorded,  almost  always  began 
each  experiment,  until  July  27th,  when,  to 
avoid  the  possibility  of  unconscious  indica- 
tions, Mr.  Smith  adopted  the  plan  of  not 
shaking  at  all. )  P.  :  "  Another  two,  yon 
mean.  You  say  another  one,  but  there  are 
always  two."  S. :  "Yes, two."  P. :  "Here 
it  is.  You  said  there  were  two !  There' J 
only  one,  an  8."  Some  remarks  here  no' 
recorded.  We  think  that  Mr.  Smith  sai< 
there  were  two,  and  told  him  to  lookagaii 


i 


Experiments  in  Thought-Transference.  135 

NUMBER  DRAWN.  NUMBER  GUESSED  AND  REMARKS. 

P.  said  he  saw  a  4.  Mrs.  Sidgwick :  "Which 
came  first?"  P.  :  "The  8  first,  then  the 
4  to  the  left,  so  that  it  would  have  been  48. 
I  should  like  to  know  how  you  do  that 
trick." 

20  P. :  "  A  2  and  an  0 ;  went  away  very  quickly  that 

time." 

1 1  . .  •  •••  Jr.  •         1 1» 

86  P.  :  "3    .    .    .    86." 

75  P.  :  "  I  might  turn  round.    Should  I  see  them  just 

the  same  over  there?"  (Changed  his 
position  so  as  to  sit  sideways  in  the  chair, 
and  looking  away  from  Mr.  Smith.)  S.  : 
"Well,  you  might  try."  P.:  "I  don't 
think  I  see  so  well  this  way."  (He  did  not 
move,  however.)  "I  see  a  7  and  a  6 — 75. 
Why  don't  you  let  them  both  come  at  once? 
I  believe  I  should  see  them  better  if  you 
let  me  open  my  eyes."  (No  notice  was 
taken  of  this.) 

17  S.  :  "  Now  then,  P.,  here's  another."    P. :  "  Put  it 

there  at  once."  (Then,  after  some  time) : 
"You've  only  put  a  4  up.  I  see  7." 
S.  :  "What's  the  other  figure?"  P.: 
"4  .  .  .  the  4's  gone."  S.  :  "  Have  a 
look  again."  P.:  "I  see  1  now."  S.  : 
"Which  way  are  they  arranged?"  P.: 
"The  1  first  and  the  7  second." 

52  S.  :    "Here's  another."   P.:    "52.    I  saw  that  at 

once.  I'm  sure  there's  some  game  about 
it."  (He  had  said  something  about  this 
before,  when  the  number  was  slow  in 
coming.  He  said  Mr.  Smith  was  making 
game  of  him,  and  pretending  to  look  when 
he  was  not  looking.) 

76  P.:  "76." 

P.  was  now  told  that  Mrs.  Sidgwick  would  look  at  the  number,  and 
that  he  would  see  it  just  the  same,  which  he  quite  accepted.  Mrs. 
Sidgwick  then  gazed  at  82,  Mr.  Smith  not  knowing  what  the  number 
was,  P.  saw  nothing,  and  kept  asking  Mrs.  Sidgwick  whether  she  was 
sure  she  was  looking  at  it.  After  a  considerable  time  she  handed  the 
number  to  Mr.  Smith,  still  leaving  P.  under  the  impression  that  it 
was  she  who  was  looking  at  it. 

Then  P.  began  as  follows  : — 

82  P. :"  I  see  8  and  4,  I  think  ;  very  soon  gone  again. 

There's  2  come  up.  There !  that's  gone 
again." 

We  then  tried  to  obtain  results  with  Mr.  Smith  standing  behind  a 
curtain  which  divided  the  room  in  which  P.  sat  from  an  ad^oimn^  <hm&. 


136  Eocperimente  in  ThoughUTmii&ference. 

The  distance  between  him  and  P.  was  then  about  12ft  P.  was 
left  under  the  impression  that  Mrs.  Sidgwick  was  still  looking  at  the 
numbers. 

NUMBER  DRAWN.  NUMBER  GUESSED  AND  REMARKS. 

44  Mrs.  Sidgwick :  •  •  Do  you  see  anything?"  P. :  "No.  If 

I  was  to  imagine  anything  I  chose  I  could 
see  it — 88,  or  anything ;  but  I  wait  for  it  to 
come."  (Pause.)  "  I  thought  I  saw  a 3,  but 
it  went  so  quick.  This  is  what  they  call 
second  sight,  isn't  it — seeing  with  your 
eyes  shut?" 

51  The  conditions  were  the  same  as  with  the  last,  but 

as  no  impression  came,  after  some  time  Mr. 
Smith  came  silently  into  the  room  and 
stood  about  7ft.  or  8ft.  from  P.  There  was 
still  no  impression,  and  he  moved  to  within 
about  4ft.  Then,  as  there  was  still  no  im- 
pression, we  told  P.  that  Mr.  Smith  would 
look  as  well  as  Mrs.  Sidgwick,  and  that 
be  would  then  be  sure  to  see.  8.  :  "  See 
anything!"  P.  :  "No."  (Pause.)  "I seem 
to  see  something  that  turned  round.  First 
a  6  that  turned  into  a  9."  S.  :  "  Do  you 
see  anything  else  ? "    P.  :  "  No.  Yes,  I  do, 

al— 91. » 

4o  ...        . .  •  «jy. 

P.  was  now  woken  up,  and  after  an  interval  Mrs.  Sidgwick  tried  to 
hypnotise  him,  but  in  vain.  Mr.  Smith  re-hypnotised  him,  and  we 
tried  the  effect  of  different  positions  and  distances. 

Mr.  Smith  behind  P.  and  close  to  him. 

75  S.  :  "  Now  then,  P."    P.:  "Do  you  mean  to  say 

you're  going  to  try  that  thing  on  again  ?  " 
S.  :  "Yes;  do  you  see  anything?"  P.: 
"  No,  not  yet."  S.  :  "  What  do  you  see  ?  " 
P.  "I  feel  as  if  I  saw  a  7,  but  it  went  away 
again.  S.  :  "Yes;  anything  else?"  P. 
"A  5." 

36  P.  :  "3  and  a  6." 

Mr.  Smith  a  yard  or  so  from  P.,  and  to  his  right. 

72  P.  :  "  1  saw  72,  but  it  went  away  again.    Wait  a 

minute  and  1*11  see  if  it  comes  again.  Yes, 
there  it  is,  72.  I  saw  it,  but  it  went  away 
instantly  at  first." 

48  S.  :  "Here's  another."    P. :  "Look  at  it."  (Pause.) 

"  I  see  a  4 — see  it  there  still.  It  stays 
there."  S. :  Now  you'll  see  some  more." 
P.:  "Yes,  an  8;  48." 

Mr.  Smith  about  7ft.  from  P.,  not  quite  in  front  of  him. 

49  P.:  "A  9."    S. :   "Yes?"     P.:  "96."     (Pause.) 

"  Yes,  they  come  again." 


Experiments  in  Thought-Transference. 


137 


NCMBER  DRAWN. 
50 

S3 

86 

64 


57 

74 
14 
33 


NUMBER  GUESSED  AND  REMARKS. 

S.  :  "Now,  then,  P.,  here's  another."     P.  :"A5 

and  a  7." 
S. :  "Now,  then,  here's  another  one."  P.  :  "8."  S. : 

"Yes?"  P.:    "That's  all."   (Pause.)  "2.' 
P.  :  "35." 
P.  :  "4,  3."    (Asked  in  what  order  they  came) : 

"  The  3  came  afterwards.    If  I  were  to  read 

it  I  should  call  it  34 ;  but  the  4  came  first." 
P.  :  "7."    S.  :  "Yes."    P.  :  "6—67.    I  didn't  see 

them  both  together  that  time." 
P.;  "49." 
P.:  "31." 
P.  :  "  2,  5  ;  that  would  be  52." 


Mr.  Smith  close  to  P. 
70  P.:  "A  0—70." 

A  blank  sheet  of  paper  was  now  spread  out  on  the  table,  and  P.  was 
told  that  he  was  going  to  have  his  eyes  opened  and  that  he  would  then 
see  numbers  come  on  the  paper.  He  was  then  partially  awoken  and 
his  eyes  opened.  Seeing  the  paper  he  immediately  asked  where  the 
planchette  was,  alluding  to  former  experiments.  He  was  told  to  look 
at  the  paper  and  see  what  came,  but  saw  nothing  for  some  time. 
He  had  evidently  forgotten  all  about  the  previous  state  in  which  he 
had  been  guessing  numbers,  and  appeared  so  wide  awake  that  it  was 
difficult  to  believe  that  he  was  not  in  a  completely  normal  condition 
until  he  began  to  speak  of  some  former  experiments  in  which  we  made 
him  see  hallucinatory  crosses  on  paper.     Mr.  Smith  stood  behind  him. 

NUMBER  SEEN  ON  THE  PAPER  AND  REMARKS. 

"23."  S. :  "Is  that  what  you  can  see?" 
P.:  "Yes"  (but  he  added  later  that  he 
did  not  see  it  properly). 

"  A  7,  0.  Oh,  no,  8,  78.  Funny  !  I  saw  a  7 
and  a  little  0,  and  then  another  came  on 
the  top  of  it,  and  made  an  8." 

"  There's  a  4,  7."  Asked  where,  he  offered  to 
trace  it,1  and  drew  the  47,  of  which  the 
following  is  a  facsimile  : — 


DUMBER  DRAWN. 

18 


87 


37 


P. 


P. 


P. 


f- 


1  We  had,  on  previous  occasions,  asked  him  to  trace  haE\xdT£&\o,&&. 


138  Experiments  in  Thought-Traruference. 

NUMBER  DRAWN.  NUMBER  SEEN  ON  THE  PAPER  AND  REMARKS. 

44  P.:  "No.    I  see  5,  4 ;  it's  gone  again."    S.:"A11 

right,  look  at  it."  P. :  "45."  S. :  "Sure?" 
P.:  "There's  a  4; — the  other's  not  so 
clear."  (Then  quickly.)  "  Two  fours;  44M 

As  he  looked  one  of  them  disappeared,  and  he  turned  the  paper  over 
to  look  for  it  on  the  other  side ;  then  looked  back  at  the  place  where 
he  saw  it  before  and  said,  "  That's  funny  !  while  I  was  looking  for  that 
the  other  one's  gone."  When  looking  under  the  paper  he  noticed  some 
scribbling  on  the  sheet  below  and  said,  "  Has  that  writing  anything  to 
do  with  it  f "  He  seemed  puzzled  by  the  figures,  which  were  apparently 
genuine  externalised  hallucinations.  He  could  not  make  out  why  they 
came,  nor  why  they  disappeared. 

37  P.  (after  long  gazing) :  "  87."     S. :  "  Is  that  what 

you  see  ?  "  P. :  "  It's  gone.  I'm  pretty 
sure  I  saw  37." 

Mr.  Smith  then  looked  at  the  37  again  and  we  told  P.  to  watch 
whether  it  came  back,  but  after  a  little  while  he  said  he  thought  he 
saw  29. 

On  the  occasion  just  described  we  adopted  the  precaution — which 
was  continued  on  subsequent  occasions — of  not  letting  Mrs.  Sidgwick 
know  what  numbers  were  drawn  till  after  they  had  been  guessed,  so  as 
to  avoid  all  possibility  of  bias  in  recording  the  remarks.  She  only 
knew  at  the  time  the  number  which  she  herself  tried  to  transfer. 
Professor  Sidgwick  drew  the  numbers  from  the  bag  and  handed  them 
to  Mr.  Smith,  holding  them  so  as  to  preclude  any  possibility  of  their 
being  seen  in  a  normal  way  during  the  process. 

Our  next  subject  was  Miss  B.,  a  young  lady  employed  in  a  shop. 
We  had  only  two  opportunities  of  experimenting  with  her.  She  had 
been  hypnotised  on  three  previous  occasions  by  Mr.  Smith,  and  once  by 
another  mesmerist,  and  is   a  remarkably  good  subject. 

She  came  in  on  July  9th,  1889,  when  we  were  in  the  middle  of 
experiments  with  P.,  and  saw  in  her  normal  state  the  way  the  experi- 
ments were  earned  out  and  what  the  figures  used  were  like.  After  she 
was  hypnotised  and  we  had  tried  some  other  experiments  with  her,  we 
proceeded  to  the  thought-transference. 

NUMBER  DRAWN.  NUMBER  GUESSED  AND  REMARKS. 

16  S.  :  "Now,  Miss  B.,  I'm  going  to  hang  numbers 

up."  Miss  B.  :  "  I  see  6."  S. :  "  Do  you 
see  anything  else  ? "  Miss  B.  :  "  No.  .  .  . 
6,  I'm  sure.     Yen,  1  ;  1  first  and  6  after." 

67  S.  :  "That's  all  right.      Now  you'll  see  another 

one."    Miss  B.  :  "I  think  I  see  another  6. 

All  sixes.    You  keep  putting  up  sizes.1* 

.  :  "  Yes,  there's  a  six ;  you'll  see  another 


Experiments  in  TTiought-Transference.  139 

NUMBER  DRAWN.  NUMBER  GUESSED  AND  REMARKS. 

in  a  minute."  Miss  B.  :  "I  see  the  6.  .  .  • 
There's  something  more.  I  can't  quite  see 
— a  kind  of  a  7,  I  think." 

18  Miss  B. :  "  Oh,  not  a  6  this  time  ?  "    S.  :  "  No,  not 

a 6."    MissB.  :  "land  8." 

37  S. :  "  Now  you'll  see  another,  Miss  B."    Miss  B.  : 

"  Oh,  3,-6  again."    S. :  "  That's  right." 

71  S.  :  "Now   here's   another."     Miss  B. :  "I  can't 

see  it."  S. :  "  You'll  see  it  in  a  minute." 
Miss  B. :  "I  believe  it's  another  6  and  a  1." 

66  Miss  B.  :  "Well,  I  really  think  6  and  another  6— 

nothing  else. 

02  S.  :  "  Well,  now,  here's  another,  Miss  B."  Miss  B.: 

"  6  ;  I  can't  see  the  other  figure." 

50  S. :  "Here's    another  one,    Miss  B."      Miss   B.  : 

"Another!  I  don't  see  it."  (After  a 
pause.)  "I  think  I  can  see  something." 
S.  :  "  What  does  it  look  like  ?'  Miss  B. : 
"5."  S. :  "Yes?"  MissB.:  "1  don't 
see  anything  else  just  yet."  (Then,  after 
a  pause.)  "5  and  a  round."  Mrs.  Sidg- 
wick :  "Is  the  round  round  the  5  ? " 
Miss  B.  :  "  No,  after  it ;  beside  it."  S.  : 
"  Then  it's  50."    Miss  B.  :  "  Yes,  50." 

84  S.  :  "Here's  another  number  going  up."    Miss  B.  •" 

"I  don't  see  it  yet."  (Pause.)  "I  see 
something  .  .  .  8."  S. :  "What  else?" 
MissB.  :  "4    .     .     .     8,4." 

15  S.  :  "Miss  B.,  there's  another  number  going  up." 

MissB.:  "landS." 

Miss  B.  was  now  told  that  she  would  see  numbers  gradually  come 
on  a  sheet  of  blank  paper  in  front  of  her,  and  gradually  disappearing 
again,  and  was  then  roused  into  a  lighter  stage  of  trance,  and  her  eyes 
opened.  She  was  told  to  look  at  the  paper.  Mr.  Smith  stood  behind 
her.  We  believe  that  in  this  stage  she  had  no  memory  of  the  previous 
one. 

NUMBER   DRAWN  NUMBER  SEEN  ON  THE  PAPER,  AND  REMARKS. 

88  MissB.:  "Well,  what  am  I  to  see?"    (Pause.)    "I 

believe  there  are  some  figures  coming.  An 
8  and  an  8." 

She  then  traced  them  in  pencil,  and  we  give  a  facsimile  of  the 
tracing. 


She  said  that  they  looked  reddish  in  colour,  but  as  before  remarked, 
she  had  seen  the  numbers  in  use,  and  may  have  been  influenced  b^tbia. 


140  Experiments  in  ThougM-Trcvn&fervnce. 

NUMBER  DRAWN.  NUMBER  8ZEN  ON  PAPER  AND  REMARKS 

15  S. :"  See  if  you  see  any  more,  Miss  B."    Miss  ft: 

"See  figures— no;  where  are  they?" 
(Pause.)  "  I  don't  see  any  figures ;  yon 
are  cheating  me."  S. :  "You  will  see  some 
in  a  minute,"  Miss  B.:"  1  with 6."  (Traced 
them  with  a  pencil.)    "  Red,  I  think." 

Then  she  was  awoken  and  after  an  interval  re-hypnotised  and  trials 
made  at  different  distances. 

During  the  next  six  experiments,  Mr.  Smith  was  completely  silent. 
Mrs.  Sidgwick,  who  did  not  know  the  numbers,  carried  on  the  conversa- 
tion with  Miss  B.,  but  did  not  think  it  needful  to  record  her  own 
remarks. 

Mr.  Smith  behind  the  curtain  separating  the  two  rooms  and  about 
12ft.  distant. 

NUMBER  DRAWN.  NUMBER  GUESSED  AND  REMARKS. 

55  Miss  B.  :  "  Where  is  the  number?  I  don't  see  it.    It 

looks  something  like  a  3, 1  think.  I  can 
see  something.  I  think  it  is  a  3 ;  I  can't 
see  it  very  well.  Something  coming.  Let 
me  see— 6  again.  There's  some  6  there ;  I 
can't  quite  see.  I  believe  some  6.  I  think 
I  see  6." 

Mr.  Smith  in  the  room,  and  about  8ft.  from  Miss  B. 

64  Miss  B.  :  "I  don't  see  it."    (Pause.)    "Al.    Isfc 

a  1  ?  Something  coming  like  a  round ;  8 
perhaps,  or  0 ;  10." 

Mr.  Smith  close  to  Miss  B.,  as  at  first. 

65  Miss  B.  :  "Something  round  again;  I  wonder  what 

it's  going  to  turn  to — not  0 — nor  8.  It's  a 
6 ;  65." 

Miss  B.  was  now  moved  up  close  to  the  curtain  and  Mr.  Smith 

stood  behind  it. 

49  Miss  B.  :  "  A  4,  and  the  other  one  a  5 ;  45." 

33  Miss B.  :"  Where's  the   number?"    (Pause.)    "1 

and  another  5." 

50  Miss  B. :  "  Round  rings  again  coining ;  6,  the  other 

looks  like  a  round  ring." 

We  had  another  opportunity  of  experimenting  with  Miss  B.  on 
October  30th.  On  this  occasion  6  attempts  were  made  with  Mr.  Smith 
in  the  room  below  the  percipient,  and  3  with  Mr.  Smith  near  her,  but 
quite  silent.     The  list  is  as  follows  : — 

NUMBER  DRAWN.  NUMBER  GUESSED. 

Mr.  Smith  in  the  room  below. 

i y         . . .         . . .         . •  •         i,/|  or  4 

WW  •••  ••«  ■••  lO 

«1  ...  •• .  . . .  0& 


Experiments  in  Thought-Transference.  141 

Mr.  Smith  near  Miss  B. 

NUMBKJt  DRAWN.  .  NUMBER  GUESSED. 

68        16    This  experiment  was  interrupted. 

90  •  •  •  « •  •  •  •  •  Do 

69        69  or  61 

Mr.  Smith  in  the  room  below. 

X^K  •••  .  .   .  •••  A   A 

%yZi  ...         ...        «5o 

\J  $  •••  •••  •••  %Jmi 

It  would  be  tedious  were  we  to  describe  at  length  all  the  experi- 
ments, which  have  occupied  us  altogether  on  twenty-five  evenings.  We 
give,  therefore,  the  results  of  trials  with  P.  and  T.  in  a  tabulated  form. 

The  following  is  an  explanation  of   the  Tables. — The   left   hand 
column    on   each    day   gives   the   numbers    drawn,1   and    the    right 
hand  column  the  numbers   guessed.      When   No.   is   printed  instead 
of  a  number  it  is  because  the  actual  number  was  not  noted  down. 
A    x    in   the  place   of  a  guess  means   that  the  percipient   had   no 
impression  of  any  kind.      The  successful  trials  are  printed  in  thick 
type,  and  so  are  the  successful  parts  of  half  successes.     Cases  where 
both   digits    were    right,    but    in    reversed    order,    are    counted    as 
successes.     An  asterisk  affixed  to  a  guess  means  that  it  was  to  some 
extent  a  second  guess  (for  particulars  of  these  see  p.  146).     The  letter 
preceding  the  number  drawn  indicates  the  relative  position  of  agent 
and  percipient,  as  follows  :    a  means  agent    close    to  percipient  (not 
actually  touching)  and  in  front  of  him.     b  means  agent  two  or  three 
feet  from  percipient  in  front  of  him.     c  means  any  greater  distance  of 
agent  from  percipient  in  front  of  him.     Usually  for  position  c  the 
percipient  sat  leaning  back  in  an  arm-chair  on  one  side  of  a  full-sized 
card-table,  not  quite  close  to  it  and  rather  sideways  to  it,  and  Mr. 
Smith  sat  at  the  other  side  of  the  table ;  but  sometimes  Mr.  Smith 
stood  10  or  12  feet  from  the  percipient,     d  means  that  the  agent  was 
behind  the  percipient  and  near  him.    e,  behind  the  percipient  and  some 
distance  off.    f,  the  agent  about  three  feet  or  more  to  one  side  of 
percipient. 

Other  experiments  besides  those  with  numbers  are  given  in  the  tables, 
but  not  in  any  numerical  statements. 


1  On  two  or  three  occasions  numbers  other  than  the  Loto  numbers,  and  not  drawn 
at  random,  were  looked  at  by  Mr.  Smith,  but  as  this  made  no  apparent  difference  we 
have  not  thought  it  desirable  to  complicate  the  table  by  indicating  them. 


142 


Experiments  in  ThcnujktrTransference* 


Table  I. 
Trials  with  P.  when  Mr.  Smith  was  in  the  Samb  Boom  with  Hdl 


July  6th. 


a    87 

19 
*4 


20 


1 

xS 


$■ 

20 

if- 
I 

Attempt  behind 
curtain  interpola- 
ted here. 

b    ji         91 

»    4&         39 
Woken,  and  rest 

here. 


% 

20 

s 

75 
17 
52 


rf    75 

48 


>> 

c 


*9 
5o 

35 

64 

SI 

74 

'4 

33 
a    70 


>» 


»» 


>> 


>» 


»» 


11 


»> 


>i 


71 
36 

48 

<?,,? 

35 

J4 

*7 

*9 

J' 

** 
70 


(Housed  here  par- 
tially, and  the  rest 
done  with  open 
eye«.) 

d    18         23 
87         78 
37         47 
»    44         44* 
»>    37         37 


»> 


>> 


July  9th. 


a    32 
1/ 


13 


23 


79         79* 
10         10 

CAT    CAT 

Picture  \  T 

of  Cat/  h 

PAW  (OVV 

J*         x9 
Picture  \  w 

of  Bird/  x 

Diagram  x 

N  x 

DOG     x 

No.        x 


July  24th. 


a    37 

'3 

83 
20 

7* 
6\ 

'4 

82 

16 

3' 
44 
7i 


{ 


35 

*7 

45 
26 

54 
36 
41 

5' 
to 

43 
54 
45 
4* 


July 

25**. 

a    46 

7* 

>    '3 

57 

;  % 

*5 

,   81 

*,* 

,   /<? 

*7 

*    12 

21 

.   #* 

39 

Julymh. 


*    73 
21 

47 


7* 
4* 


59 

17 
^7 

67 

/<* 
8/ 

H 

44 


SS 
30 
17 

4* 
(76 
-1  no 

& 
*4 

|4 

8? 

*7 

'3     6>4%5 

85         & 
Interval  here,and 

other  experiments, 
a    58         85 

6   .*>       *7 

a    16         16 

75 

Si 
34 
(>5 

? 

V. 

id  in- 


57 
59 

*4 

*S 
6/ 

*° 
Woken,  an< 

terval. 

(Plan  of  silence 
on  the  part  of  all 
who  knew  the  num- 
ber begun  at  this 
point) 


11 


>• 


e  16 

,,  88 

.»  35 

i>  43 


21 


16 


Seventeen  at- 
tempts behind  cur- 
tain interpolated 
here. 


«    73 
11    46 


27 
11 


Experiments  in  Thought-Transference, 


143 


July  29th. 

July  30th, 

August  nth. 

August  20th. 

a    67         fa 

d    60         62 

e    20        34 

After    two     at- 

„   /o         41 

"49         49 

»    7x         7x 

tempts     outside 

99  &     2 
,,70     70 

»    7*         7* 

door,  with  no  im- 

»   7*        5J 

»>    39         39 

pression.    Then 

"3  s, 

»  5*       5* 

,,    81        81 

..24         24 
m    39         39 

/    No.        x 
a    No.        x 

..    *         26 

i>    87         87 

Rest  here. 

Attempts  behind 

>,    J*         43 

c    No.        x 

curtain     interpo- 

„   */          'J* 

n      29             29 

„     No.        x 

lated  here. 

„    66         43 

»    79        79* 

Woken,     and 

e     88        74 

,»    **        7«J 

»»    *7        7» 

begun  again. 

„    03        S3 

„    87          96 

„    7<*         *> 

c    22        3s 

,»    49         49 

»*/*  .      9* 

An  attempt  out- 

t»   47         4/ 

!!    4*         4* 

Rest  here. 

side  the  door,  with 

tt    3'         *6 

e     4/         10 
„    No.        x 

no  impression.  The 

„    26         48 

„    xx         xx 

same    No.    then 

»    38        63 

Attempts  behind 

Rest  here. 

brought  in. 

».    3*         7S 

curtain     interpo- 

c    2,3         22 

c     No.        x 

a    43         90 

lated  here. 

„    66         46 

Rest. 

Rest  here. 

e     64  .      64 

,»    30         30 

c     7S         *3 
(P.  &  T.  together 

for  next  two. ) 

c     16         46 

»    3£         35- 
»    58         85 

»    J9         *7 

»»  n       49 

„    4^         40 
»»    79         69 

„  40       10 

"«*  ,      75 

c     86          x 

>»    So         37 

Best  here. 

»»    X5         51 

,,    No.        x 

c     tfo        7,6 

Attempt  outside 

»    3?         3* 

the  door  here,  with 

„30         30 

no  impression. 

Attempts  behind 

e     88        37 

,,    69        2,0 

curtain  here. 

»    SS          * 

c     53         53 
Attempts  behind 

Rest  here. 

c     79         <flp 

curtain  here. 

»    V         a* 

c    S6         74 

,,70         70 

Rest  here. 

Attempt  outside 
the  door  nere,  with 

c     13         3S 

t»    J*        9*3 

no  impression. 

»»    39         39 

c     38         38* 

,»    jo         ** 

»    */         ** 

»    45         45 

,,7/         /o 

144 


Experiments  in  Tkought-Tranaferenee. 


August 

21**. 

September  2\st 

September  22nd. 

September  23rd. 

f    78 

X 

c    SS         & 

c     84         3? 

e    82        63 

„  *s 

J5 

,,    18         10 

..    ^7        '7 

(P.  &  T.  together 

»    S3 

7' 

„      8(7              %2 

"    2*       •?* 

»     44 

*9 

„      44             64 

„   a?       op 

for  the  next  eight) 

„     86 

ss 

Two   trials  here 

»  5*        «? 

c    3^         54 

„     70 

^4 

with  Mrs.  Sidgwick. 

,,    67        10 

,.    88        34 

»    *9 

21 

c     64         64 

„    J9         ^ 

»    *P         7<> 

»»   n 

*3   . 

»    37        37 

„    69         88 

»>    **         '7 

Other 

expen- 
.    Then 

,     79           x 

».    7*         *P 

t»    *4         $9 

ments  here. 

*    *J          '9 

»    *         J* 

»    86         91 

a  rest. 

>•    7J*         <? 

„    **         Zf 

t.    4*         73 

c     16 

81 

„     10         24 

».    J*'         **     , 

„    <Sb         69 

»    74 

43 

1,    57        57 

Pause  here,  and 

>.    89 

30 

>f   56        40 

deeper    hypnotisa- 

„    76 

12 

•t    5/         *9 

tion. 

„    '5 

S4 

•>    54         J7 

c     28         93 

»    ^ 

S2 

„     44           * 

,,    84         29 

„      70 

39 

Woken,  and  in- 

»   3^         3^ 

1>    69 

S3 

terval. 

C      J*J              x 

„    14         29 
,,    J^           x 

„    '5         *P 
»    5<>          47 

»    77         7* 

,,    72         81 

»    90        50 
,,    //         23 

..    #*         '7 

Experiments  in  Thought-Traneference. 


145 


September  24th, 

October  26th. 

October  97th. 

October  2&th. 

c     43         3' 

b    85         29 

(P.  &T. together.] 

(P.  &  T.  together 

»>    3'         *4 

„    3^        7,8 

After  someattempte 

for   all   this   day.) 

„    21          19 

»    26       3>* 

from  another  room. 

After  some  attempts 

».     *5         57 

„    64        4,0 

c   53       n 

from  another  room. 

(P.  &  T.  together 

»    07        ^ 

(P.  alone  for  next 

c     88        90 

for  the  next  20.) 

(P.  &T.  together 

three.) 

„    10        50 

c    59         46 

c     83        J9 

>»    25         '0 

„    81         62 

for   the  remaining 

„    41         28 

"«W    .     74 

„    m6         65 

attempts    on    this 

„    66         47 

Pause  here. 

ff    V         37 

day.) 

(P.  &  T.  together 

c     20         20 

»»    74        57 

0    39         40 

for    remainder    of 

tt    5J        jo 

„    Si         64 

d    71         69 

this  day.) 

More     attempts 

»f    39         22 

»    77         21 

c    41        31 

from  another  room 

^    *3,      ?3 
P.  awoken  here. 

>,    60         13 

»    57         S7 

here,  and  then  tried 

»    35         8S 

>>    45         28 

card  -  guessing    in 

Interval.— P.  re- 

„    7*         16 

».    *o        3*7 

same  room. 

hypnotised,      and 

Rest  here. 

Woken,  and  in- 

c   *H       7H 

positions  of  P.  &  T. 

<*    */        J,7 

terval  here. 

„  J-S        /S 

exchanged. 

„     02          J,2 

c     13         83 

m    ^S        5  V 

c.    38         23 

»»    ^        J>< 

»    45         '4 

„    8H.        0C 

„    83         83 

»    J*        *,' 

»    24         38 

„    9H        /H 

..    59         59' 

t»    ^         97 

».    54         63 

„    /oC       KD 

,*    23         12 

»    *?         J* 

y>49  ,      V 

„    QnC     KveC 
„    KD       /S 

>.    55         50 

„    J*         61 

Rest  here. 

,.    29         29 

f    84        3t7 

c     46         46 

>i    <ft>         ^/ 

„    7'         46 

M        30                  30 

»»    3*        ',5 

»>     24        *>3 

Attempts    made 

,1     7/          /0 
„    8*         80 

»     ^7          78 
»»    J9          4* 

from  another  room 

here. 

October  29th. 

»»     *9,        J7 

Rest  here 

c     atf         35 

JlfVOV    UvAvt 

/     J2            02 

(P.  &  T.  together 

Pause  here.     (P. 

»    35         53 

for  all  these.)  After 

alone  after  this. ) 

„    *7         *> 

attempts    down- 
stairs, &c. 

c    5J         F,AJ 

„    A?         94 

»    N          N 

„    7$         67 

b    32        6,4 

„    K          K 

»    7*         J* 

„     71           21 

»    88          x 

>»    79          *o 

>t    43         2Z 

„  BEE  B,E,E,F 

Woken,  and  in- 

„ HORSE  BEE 

terval  here. 

again 

/    7/         38 
»    75        75 

„    12        92 

October  20th. 

»    J*         07 

>t    4*         29 

(P&T.  together.) 

>*    -*3         73 

After   attempts 

„    10         19 

downstairs. 

,,    No.       96 

c     78         4 

1rP.  had  been  told  that  there  would  be  letters,  but  as  a  number  was  afterwards 
spoken  of  by  mistake,  we  thought  it  better  to  take  a  number. 


146  Expervmeni8  in  Thought-Transference. 

Summary  of  Table  I. 
All  Days. 

Total  number  of  attempts 354 

,  ,             ,,         successes            ...         . . .         . . .         ...         ...  f  y 

Of  these  79,  there  were  with  digits  reversed 10 

,,            „            „      to  some  extent  second  guesses        ...  9 

Most    probable    number    of    complete    successes    by    pure 
chance  Vi*  =  4  or  6. 

Successful  Days,  i.e.,  token  there  were  3  or  more  successes. 

Number  of  attempts  245 

,  %  successes  ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  •£ 

Other  Days. 

Number  of  attempts  109 

,  ,  successes  •■•        • . .        . . .        ...        ...        ...  o 

Half  successes,  i.e.,  one  digit  right  and  in  the  right  place. 

Out  of  the  170  non-successful  attempts  on  successful  days    60 

Of    these   the  digit  rightly  guessed  was  in  the  first  place  35 

times  and  in  the  second  place  25  times. 
(Most  probable  number  by  pure  chance  *$£  +  Yoa  =  about  36.) 

Out  of  the  104  non  successful  attempts  on  other  days 21 

Of  these  the  digit  rightly  guessed  was  in  the  first  place  9  times 

and  in  the  second  place  12  times. 
(Most  probable  number  by  pure  chance  *$*  +  1{^  =  about  22.) 

Number  of  successes  with  Mr.  Smith  completely  silent  39 

The  plan  of  silence  on  the  part  of  all  who  knew  the  number  was 
begun  in  the  course  of  July  27th  and  maintained  afterwards, 
except  in  special  cases  noted  at  the  time. 

Number  of  successes  with  Mr.  Smith  behind  P.  8 

This  is  out  of  7  trials  on  July  6th,  the  13  first  trials  of  July  30th, 
and  13  trials,  all  failures,  on  October  26th. 

Number  of  successes  with  a  sheet  of  paper  covering  P.'s  head     ...     18  or  21 
We  believe  that  it  was  21,  but  it  is  not  explicitly  recorded  on 
September  24th.     The  plan  was  begun  on  August  17th  after 
the  first  4  guesses.     On  that  day  a  single  sheet  of  newspaper 
was  used.     Afterwards  the  sheet  was  always  double. 

In  the  case  of  those  numbers  marked  with  asterisks  the  guess  was  not 
completely  right  at  first.  The  details  of  four  of  these,  which  occurred  on 
July  6th,  have  been  already  given.     The  rest  were  as  follows  : — 

July  9th.  23        ...        P. :  "  73."  S. :  "Which  figure  is  the  most  distinct?" 

P.  :  "The  3;  the  other's  gone  now.     2." 
S.  :  "  What  number  is  it?"    P. :  "23." 
,,  56        ...        P.  :  "  I  see  a  2  and  a  6  .  .  .  Only  a  6  there  now." 

S.  :  "What  do  you  see?"  P. :  "A  6." 
S.  :  "We'll  see  if  you  see  another." 
"P.  :  5—53."     S. :  "I  thought  you  said 


Experiments  in  Thought-Transference. 


147 


» 


July  30th. 


79 
38 


P. 
P. 


6."  P. :  "Yes,  but  it's  gone."  S.  :  "Well, 
what  is  it  now  ?  "  P. :"  A  3  and  a  6.  36 
.  •  •  66. 

"39."  S. :  "Which  is  most  distinct?"  P. : 
9—79." 

"  I  can  see  a  0."  Mrs.  Sidgwick  (who  did  not 
know  the  number) :  "  That's  good— well, 
it  can't  be  0  by  itself.  There  must  be 
something  else  ? "  P. :  "  That  O's  gone.  I 
can  see  3  up  there.  ...  I  can  see  8." 

"  89."  Professor  Sidgwick  (who  did  not  know 
the  number) :  "  Were  the  two  numbers 
equally  clear?"  P.:  "No,  8  has  gone 
away  and  7  come  in  its  place.  I  do  not 
know  if  8  ought  to  have  been  there  at  all.' 

Table  II. 
Trials  with  T.  when  Mb.  Smith  was  in  the  Same  Room  with  Him. 


August  11th.      79 


P. 


July  6th. 

July  24th. 

July 

25tk 

July  26th. 

a    6i 

26 

«    57 

16 

a    40 

35 

d  Emerald    Bluish 

„    84 

3^ 

»f    3' 

1 

„     76 

96 

Green       Green 

,»     47 

02 

»     12 

42 

11    '* 

58 

„  Red          Red 

»»    3* 

61 

,,    * 

7* 

1,    2* 

28 

,,  Brown      Blue 

„     80 

11 

,,    78 

26 

Rest  here. 

,,  Orange     Red 

„      2/ 

25 

11      -// 

n 

a    40 

'3 

(colour) 

„      18 

10 

i>      *T 

23 

»»    3^ 

33 

,,  Blue         Blue 

„    56 

26 

II      J7 

22 

„     4' 

'5 

,,  Black        x 

>»    59 

*4 

„    68 

68 

:9 

3S 

,,  Red          Red 

II      37 

'SI 

»    3i 

3i 

76 

,,  Emerald  Green 

,,     61 

61 

„    *o 

64 

::  £ 

.  4/ 

Green 

»>    33 

53 

„  CAN 

X 

6 

,,  Drawing    x 

„     40 

40 

X 

1,    *5 

55 

of  Key 

,,    2/ 

23 

..    N 

X 

.»    3* 

35 

„  Orange     Red 

»t     47 

58 

„    <? 

X 

1.    59 

S5 

(colour) 

II          60 

6/ 

Rest  here. 

„    37 
,,    63 
,,    16 

3 

,,  A  Sov-     A  Pen 

"    74 
»» 

{74 
\S4 

a    72 
„    No. 

16 

X 

63 

4* 

ereign 
*i      77              62 

„    22 

22 

i»    -#0 

6? 

„      70       6,1,7,2 

»»    3* 

3* 

,,     12              26 

»    45 

45 

>»     24              42 

,.    59 

*9 

»     77              *7 

„    66 

66 

11     60             63 

„    21 

21 

»»     36              3* 

„    8j 

3 

11     <*?             32 

„     80 

80 

M     40              40 

»,     73 

693 

»     3^              3* 

,»    8j 

*5 

11     /i              *i 

„     2/ 
,,    No. 

24 
38 

»     44              44 
*i     69              6> 

»>    33 

95 

c  Emerald  Blue 

,,     78 

J8 

• 

Green 
,,  Red          Red 
,,  Brown      Green 
n      70              26 
,,     34              *4 
»»     48             35 

\>1 


148 


Experiments  in  Thought-Transference. 


August  16*A. 

August  19th. 

September 

20CA. 

September  23rd. 

c     49         37 

a    22         26 

c    84 

4* 

P.  &  T.  together. 

,i    &7         *5 
,»    52         52 

„    49         18 
»    22        J8    , 

1,  30 

7* 
3f 

>,    W        8/ 

,.    71          71 

Interval,  and 

< 

"    f2         :! 

,,27         27 

other    experiments 

/* 

„     ^>           JO 

,,     1*         V 

tried  here. 

tt  j*  , 

*7 

47 

,,24         24 

»    35         35 

c     76         7/ 
„    37         '4 

Pause  here. 
c     28        S7 

„   80       A 

„    18         16 

it    4^         67 

..    J* 

*2 

„  fc       /j 

»    32         32 

..  *wrr 

1,    #* 

^? 

„    i5t       51 

»    5^ 

5* 

T.  alone. 

„    go         12 

»  37     7* 

„    jo 

'7 

».    43         *4 

Pause  here. 
e    36        24 

>*• « 

„    *o 

# 

^    40        3* 
»    if        S7 

„    go         16 

»»    79         *5 

„    20         17 

»    *S         *4 

„     '2          5,2 

„    12        46 

»  J6        i°. 

>,    5*        4>3 

^    15         <*> 

W  oken   and   in- 

»   9°         3S 

„*  70         16 

terval. 

»    90         33 

Pause  here,  and 

Other     experi- 

>.   46         ^3 

some  other  experi- 

ments tried  here. 

.,    44         5*> 
tt     '<?          7J 
„    67         *J 
„    So         16 

ments. 

Black       Blue 
Light        Kind  of 
Blue         dark 
Red 
Yellow     White 
Blue         Blue 

September 

22m/. 

c    43        4* 
t>    /o         94 

c     63 
»    4? 

7* 
*4 

,.    13         *3 
..3/         37 
.,    *S         49 
»»    43         73 

August  list. 

»    55 

>.    *7 

J* 

Orange     Light 
Yellow 

53 

»    74         *4 

f    '5         26 

»    JJ 

^7 

Crimson    Light 
Black 

»    /'          *J 

»    2^ 

21 
80 

,,69         69 

„    46         35 

t»    33 

Attempt  outB&dl 

»»    *J          * 

*9 

the  room  here. 

„    #          /7 

"    60       I23 
»                 1*5 

»    57 

»    *7 

43 
'5 

c     61         29 

»»    40         65 
Woken,  and  La 

>,    28        3,7 

terval,  with  othu^ 

Pause  here. 

experiments  hero-. 

f    *9         57 

c    67         6j 

M         JO                     ^ 

»   *x       *i 

»    83         3' 

„    5<*         38 

«i     /o        *,7 

»    S4         57 

„   s        W 

,,    <fc?        39 

..    A          Z 

»    /J         *7 

t  All  the  witnesses  agreed  afterwards  in  thinking  that  this  guess  had  been 
and  noted  down  wrongly  as  reversed. 


Experiments  in  Thought-Transference. 


149 


September 

2Uh. 

October  26th. 

October  27  th. 

October  29th. 

(P.  &  T.  together.) 

(P.  &  T.  together.) 

(P.  &  T.  together.) 

After  attempts 

c    59 

59 

c    39        8j 

After  attempts 

from  another  room. 

„    8* 

4? 

f    7'         *3 

from  another  room. 

(T.  alone,  and  with 

„    X6 

61 

»    77        *>4 

c    53         67 

eyes  open.) 
d    28       *H 

.»    3/ 

3J 

»     00          4r3 

Rest  here. 

»  u 

7* 

»    35        *>4 

c     41        1^5 

"    2*       ■*§      „ 

„  81 

9i 

>t    7*        *>9 

»    57        fl 

„    <?*       g  S  or  H 

»    39 

J* 

Pause  here. 

»    4tf        t92 

/*  or  3 
»    •**        \black 

„    43 

39 

/     21         2,1 

»    70       j,-? 

Pause  here,-  and 

„      62           7,2 

Woken,  and  in- 

»»   3*       45 

positions  of  P.  &  T. 

»    44           3 

terval  here. 

»    J<*       93 

exchanged. 

>t    J*        4,7 

c      13         8,2 

»    7'       *7 

c     3* 
„    83 

39 

70 

::  *  l£ 

u    45        7>8 
»    *4        54 

"     7*       JUT 

„    *S      7C 
„    K&C  Fig. 

„    *S     KveD 

,»    59 

93 

„   *?       24 

M     5* 

»»    *3 

02 

»    58         85 

»    -#9        4j 

»    55 

63 

»t    **        4? 

Rest  here. 

t>    *9 

47 

67/         46 

(guess 

Then   after  fur- 

„   &> 

4* 

»    «#        J/ 

a6    X no* 
^    "l  waited 

ther  attempts  from 

„    J* 

81 

»    ^7          79 

other  room,  woken, 

».    7/ 

83 

::*  ft 

Uor. 

and  interval  here. 

„    8* 

80 

,,    30        6,1 

P.  &  T.  together. 

„    76 

74 

Rest  here. 

Attempts   from 

b    32       463 

a    <?p 

65 

6    j2        9,2 

the     other      room 

„     7t          t,2 

»    jtf        49 

here. 

»    43        6,2 

,,67         68 

c     26         24 

„    60         to 

>,    7<*        4j 

October  28th. 

(P.  &T.  together.) 

Woken   up,  and 

After  attempts 

interval  here. 

from  another  room. 

b     7'         37 

c     88        2,0 

»    75        3*4 

>*    to       5>9 

„      72             *2 

„    25        9>6 

»    J*         ^7 

„    74       5>* 

»    42         42 

Pause  here. 

„    *J        6,* 

/'guess 

»    /*         J* 

„     _    J  not 

„     No.       66 

c  '*°    iwaited 
Uor. 

»»    .*?         7<> 

October  30th. 

More    attempts 
from  another  room 
here,  and  then  tried 
cards  in  same  room. 

(P.  &  T.  together.) 
c     78       6,4 

c     2R      7C 

„    JS      5S 

,,    *S      5$ 

„    ^H     6D 

„    9H     ;C 

„    QnC  KgD 

„    KgD7§ 

150  Experiments  in  Thought-Transference. 

Summary  of  Table  II. 
AU  Day$. 
Total  number  of  attempts 263 

,  ,  ,  %  BUvvUBBvB  >••  •  •  .  •••  •••  •••  •••  O^ 

Of  these  in  reverse  order 4 

(Most    probable   number   of    complete   successes   by  pure 
chance  ^  =  3orl) 

Successful  Day*,  i.e.,  token  there  were  three  or  more micoeues. 

Number  of  attempts  129 

,  i  successes  •••         •••         «■•         ••■         • . .         ■••  **% 

Other  Days. 
Number  of  attempts  134 

,  ,  BUvvvBovB  .  .  .  •••  • .  •  •*■  « •  •  ■••  § 

Half-eueeesses,  i.e.,  one  digit  right  and  in  the  right  place. 

Out  of  the  102  non-successful  attempts  on  successful  days    36 

Of  these  the  digit  rightly  guessed  was  in  the  first  place  20  times 

and  in  the  second  place  16  times. 
(Most  probable  number  by  chance  *$*  +  VJ?  —  21  or  22.) 

Out  of  the  127  non-successful  attempts  on  other  days 25 

Of  these  the  digit  rightly  guessed  was  in  the  first  place  17  times 

and  in  the  second  place  8  times. 
(Most  probable  number  by  chance  ^-f1  +  J$f  =  about  27.) 

Number  of  successes  with  Mr.  Smith  completely  silent,  viz.,  all  those 

in  August,  September,  and  October       ... 19 

Number  of  successes  with  Mr.  Smith  behind  T.  4 

All  out  of  13  trials  on  July  26th  ;  4  trials  on  August  16th  were 
failures. 

Number  of  successes  with  paper  over  T.  's  head 2 

This  was  begun  during  the  11th  guess  of  October  26th,  and  about 
33  trials  made  in  all  under  those  conditions. 

The  great  variation  in  the  amount  of  success  on  different  days  is 
strikingly  shown  by  these  tables.  Thus  all  P.'s  attempts  on  July  24th 
and  25th,  August  20th  and  21st,  September  22nd  and  23rd,  82  in 
number,  produced  only  1  success — just  what  chance  might  be  expected 
to  give ;  while  in  12  trials  on  August  17th  he  had  9  successes  and  1 
half  success.  Similarly  with  T.  August  19th,  21st,  September  20th, 
22nd,  October  27th,  28th,  29th,  30th  show  in  the  aggregate  83  trials 
with  1  success;  while  on  August  16th  he  was  successful  7  times  in 
16  trials.  We  have  entirely  failed  to  discover  any  cause  for  this 
variation,  nor  even  whether  it  depends  on  the  agent  or  the  percipient. 
Such  things  as  the  brilliant  success  on  August  16th  and  17th,  and  the 
total  failure  on  August  19th,  20th,  and  21st,  suggest  that  the  difference 
is  not  in  the  percipient ;   for  why  should  P.  and  T.  vary  together  1 


Expervments  in  Thovght-Trawsfererice.  151 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  they  did  not  always  vary  together,  so  that  it 
is  difficult  to  attribute  the  difference  entirely  to  the  agent.  Thus,  on 
September  23rd,  when  P.  and  T.  were  both  guessing  at  the  same  time, 
T.  was  quite  right  3  times  and  half  right  4  times  in  9  guesses ;  while 
P.  failed  totally.  During  these  experiments  Mr.  Smith  was  sitting  7 
or  8  feet,  or  perhaps  more,  from  T.,  and  somewhat  nearer  to  P.  On  this 
occasion  T.  had  come  in  after  we  had  begun  experiments  with  P.,  and 
we  hypnotised  him  partly  to  get  him  out  of  the  way  and  partly  in  the 
hope  that  remaining  for  a  while  in  the  hypnotic  sleep  might  render 
him  more  susceptible  to  telepathic  impressions.  We  were  much 
surprised  when,  without  anything  being  said  to  him  about  it,  he  began 
to  guess  numbers.* 

A  similar  difference  between  P.  and  T.  showed  itself  on  the  next 
day,  September  24th,  but  in  a  still  more  puzzling  way.  T.  came  in  as 
on  the  23rd,  was  hypnotised,  and  set  in  the  same  position  as  before. 
P.  was  failing,  and  continued  to  fail,  whereas  T.  had  fair  success — 2 
successes  and  3  half  successes  in  8  trials.  After  the  8  trials  we  stopped, 
awoke  P.,  had  some  talk,  exchanged  the  positions  of  P.  and  T.,  and 
re-hypnotised  him.  Then,  for  no  reason  that  we  could  see,  P.  began  to 
succeed  and  T.  to  fail.  Later  on  in  the  same  day  P.  made  his  most 
successful  set  of  attempts  with  Mr.  Smith  outside  the  room.  During 
this  he  and  T.  sat  together  on  the  same  sofa  leaning  against  one 
another,  but  T.  failed  completely. 

This  was  not  by  any  means  the  only  day  on  which  we  had 
experience  of  temporary  runs  of  success  within  the  day  itself,  as  the 
tables  clearly  show.  In  particular  it  is  remarkable  that  on  October  27  th 
and  28th,  amid  general  failure,  P.  should  on  each  day  have  had  two 
complete  successes  running.  The  successes  on  the  27th  occurred  after 
a  longish  rest  (without  awakening),  but  this  was  not  the  case  on  the 
28th.  Before  the  first  success  on  the  28th  P.  was  told  that  we  would 
rest  after  this  one  more,  which  may  have  had  a  stimulating  effect,  but 
a  similar  promise  was  not  efficacious  on  other  occasions.  The  same 
phenomenon — 2  right  guesses  in  succession  on  an  otherwise  unsuccessful 
day — was  exhibited  by  T.  on  July  24th. 

These  three  pairs  of  successes  are  isolated,  not  only  from  other 
successes,  but  from  half  successes ;  but  on  some  of  the  successful  days 
we  find  half  successes  grouped  round  the  successes.  Thus  on  July  6  th 
P.  not  only  has  one  run  of  7  successes  and  another  run  of  4,  but  in  his 
first  17  guesses  there  are  11  successes  and  6  half  successes — not  a 

*  As  Mr.  Smith  was  not  talking,  and  no  one  else  had  been  put  in  communication 
with  T.,  no  information  could  be  given  to  him  as  to  when  a  fresh  number  was  being 
looked  at.  It  was  owing  to  this  that  he  made  two  attempts  at  one  of  the  numbers — 46. 
P.  was  very  long — three  minutes— in  getting  any  impression  that  time,  and  T.  had 
both  of  his  impressions  with  a  considerable  interval  between  themtaloTfe'P.  vp&fe* 


\*>i  Erparvmmta  in 


nnqitt  cnmnieOft  failure.  On  July  9th  ami  on  July  27th  he  had  runs  of 
3  loccw—m  and  half  fflfffwi  Oil  July  29th  a  run  of  9,  on  August  17th 
of  L0,on3epi!emher2Iaso£<i  Similarfy  TL,  on  die  first  day  he  tried,  after 
beginning  with  five  complete  milnres,  baa,  in  the  comae  of  the  next  23 
trials  only  two  which  are  note  either  successes  or  half  sue  ft  mem  On 
Joly  26th,  in  10  consecutive  trials,  there  waa  only  one  complete  failure. 
On  August  16th  he  began  with  two  feulures,  and  then  had  10  successes 
and  half  successes  in  succession,  all  after  that  nuhng  again.  As  we 
have  already  pointed  one,  there  are,  on  September  23rd,  7  successes  and 
half  successes  in  his  first  9  trials,  and  on  September  24th  there  are  5  in 
the  first  6  trials,  with  no  success  to  speak  of  afterwards. 

Sometimes,  as  the  tables  show,  these  runs  of  success  seem  to  be 
introduced  or  stopped  by  a  change  of  conditions ;  but  this  is  by  no 
means  uniformly  the  case.  And  in  this  connection  we  may  call 
attention  to  two  or  three  sets  of  attempts  where  the  percipient  received 
no  impression  at  alL  The  most  curious  of  these  was  on  August  20th 
with  P.  We  began  with  two  attempts  while  Mr.  Smith  was  outside 
the  room.  Up  to  this  date,  as  will  be  seen  in  Tables  ill.  and  IV.,  no 
impression  had  been  produced  under  these  conditions.  But  what  is 
remarkable  on  this  occasion  is  that  the  4  succeeding  attempts  with  Mr. 
Hmith  in  the  room,  and  even  quite  close  to  P.,  were  absolute  blanks, 
ft  was  only  after  being  woken  and  re-hypnotised  that  P.  began  to  see 
numbers,  though  this  was  scarcely  an  improvement,  as  they  were  all 
wrong. 

The  position  of  Mr.  Smith  relatively  to  the  percipient,  so  long  as 
both  were  in  the  same  room,  did  not  seem  to  us  to  affect  the  success  of 
the  experiments  on  the  whole,  but  with  Mr.  Smith  outside  the  room 
our  success  was  poor,  though  still,  in  the  case  of  P.,  considerably  beyond 
what  might  be  expected  by  chance. 


Experiments  in  Thought-Transference. 


153 


Table  TIL 

Trials  with  P.  when  Mb.  Smith  was  Not  in  the  Same  Room 

with  Him. 


Mr.  Smith  in  a  room  divided  by  a 

Mr.  Smith  in  the  passage  outside 

curtain  from  that  in  which  P.  was. 

with  the  door  closed. 

P.  about  10ft.  from 

P.  close  to 

P.  10ft  from 

P.  near  wall,  but  not . 

curtain. 

curtain. 

wall. 

touching. 

July  6th. 

July  29th. 

July  VQth. 

July  90th. 

August  nth. 

Sept. 

2<Uh. 

44        * 

30       25 

After    the 

After  suc- 

After great 

(P.  &  T. 

JI          x 

'*       54 

experiments 

cesses. 

8uccessinthe 

together.) 

jo*      Sfi 

recorded    in 

No.      x 

room. 

43 

43 

76      2,6 

the  previous 

Other   ex- 

No.     x 

10 

3S 

6J      8j 

column,  and 

periments 

S9 

7i 

*6      3,7 
42      4,2 

just  after  a 
c  ompl  e  te 

and  pause. 
3S        x 

54 

MA 

3° 

3° 

July  27th. 

32       64 
74       SS 

success  with 
Mr.  Smith  in 

n 

4S 

47 

^9 

6o        74 

Successful 

the  room. 

7S 

61 

9'+    3*7 

J2         62 
&7        86 

experiments 
in  the  room 
here. 

48      6,9 

S3      7,3 

16       82 

36 
20 

S>4 
^4 

August  20th. 

17       S3 

S6      3J 

38       16 

29       29 

*7      4*9 

64        4S 

(First  ex- 

n       58 

Ji        21 

23        23 

periments 

S7       43 

20       45 

16      3,8 

tried   this 

10      6j 

'7       33 

SS      6>S 

day.) 
No.      x 

J8      2*3 

16       83 

48      8j 

79       JS 

E  x  p  e  r  i- 

73        'o 

No.      x 

So       39 

raents  in  the 

09      3>S 

Some  ex- 

26      3S 

room,  and 

^3       SS 

periments  in 

14        81 

pause  here. 

2/        27 

the  room, 

20       66 

48I    S>7 

3^      S*3 

with  no  im- 

84      07 

7S      4*6 

46       17 

pression,  fol- 
lowed. 

64       37 

20       60 

t  This  must  be  wrongly  recorded,  as  there  were  no  numbers  above  90  in  the  bag. 
JThis  number  was  not  drawn  at  random,  but  selected  because  P.  had  twice  had  a 
very  vivid  veridical  impression  of  it  during  this  day's  experiment. 


154 


Experiments  in  Thought-Transference. 


Mr.  Smith  in  the  room  below  P., 

floor  only  between, 

no  plaster. 

October  26th. 

October  28th. 

October  2MA. 

October  30th. 

(At  end  of  evening. 

(First  experi- 

(P. &  T, 

,  together.) 

(P.  alone.) 

P.  &  T.  together.) 

ments  this  evening. 

58 

3*o 

67           *t 

22              22 

P.  alone.) 

51 

a 

88          21 

i»           6y 

*S          54 

44 

10 

(P.  &  T.  together. 

lo           13 

85           76 

47 

*49 

37          73 

'4          3< 

25          So 

'9 

24 

3'          45 

14          22 

24 

65 

75         2,7 

43          54 
(P.  &  T.  together.) 

49          58 

66 

18 

40          80 

October  Vlth. 

3* 
89 

96 
73 

78          46 
48          19 

(P.  &  T.  together 

05           43 

34 

66 

78          3^ 

for  all  on  this  day. ) 

78           29 

33 

99 

^4           49 

12          8s 

Other    experi- 

12 

,       75      , 

34           34 

34          98 

ments,  &c.,  here. 

Rest 

here,    and 

Rest  hem 

'9         3*o 

'4          *3 

then  cards  tried. 

Experiments  up- 

69          70 

<5D 

KveD 

75          *5 

stairs,    &c,    here. 

54          89 

9c 

^£ 

*S          *7 

Then     after     two 

24          41 

8C 

9R 

46         87 

successes  upstairs. 

Pause  here. 

77           *6 

78         8,9 

66          1,7 

3S           o\ 

71          29 

34           ** 

24           48 

82         9,0 

59           & 

21               02 

45         5>2 

35           46 

23         3*o 

43           *9 

7/             J2 
76          jo 
Rest  here. 
42           2J 

'*          57 
89          6j 
16           49 
Pause  here. 
44          62 

7*          54 

60           82 

86         5*4 
Pause  here. 

63           47 
3*          39 

X  P.  had  not  been  told  to  look  for  a  number  in  this  trial. 


Experiments  in  Thought-Transfereface. 


155 


Summary  of  Table  III. 

(1)  Number  of  trials  with  Mr.  Smith  behind  a  curtain  separating  the 

two  rooms — 

(a)  P.  10  feet  from  curtain       

(6)  P.  close  to  curtain 

(2)  Number  of  trials  with  Mr.  Smith  out  of  the  room  and  door  closed 

(3)  Number  of  trials  with  Mr.  Smith  in  the  room  below 

Total  ... 

Number  of  successes  under  condition  (1)  (a) 

(1)  W 

(2)  ... 

(3)  ... 


t9 
>> 


>> 


Total  number  of  successes 


In  one  of  these,  which  occurred  under  condition  (3),  the  digits 
were  reversed. 

Most  probable  number  of  successes — 1  or  2. 

Number  of  half  successes  under  \  All  with  correct  digits  in  second 

condition  (1)  (a)  /     place     

Number  of  half  successes  under  \With  first  digit  right     ... 

condition  (1)  (6)  /     ,,     second  digit  right... 

Number  of  half  successes  under  \  With  first  digit  right     ... 

condition  (2)  /     ,,     second  digit  right 

Number  of  half  successes  under  \  With  first  digit  right     ... 

condition  (3)  '     ,,    second  digit  right... 


87 
15 


.  52 
15 
72 

139 

2 
1 
2 
3 

8 


4 
3 


17 


Number  of  cases  in  which  P.  had  no  impression ;  condition  (1)  (a) 

(2) 
(3) 


it 


9> 


2 
5 
1 


8 


156 


Experiments  in  Thought-TrariBference, 


Table  IV. 

Trials  with  T.  when  Mr.  Smith  was  Not  ix  the  Same  Boom 

with  Him. 


Mr.  Smith  in  the  passage 

outside   with    the    door 

closed. 


T.  about lOfc 
from  wall. 


Sept.  23rd. 


43 


T.  near  wall, 

but  not 
touching  it 


Sept.  24th. 


43 
io 

59 
54 
3o 

'7 
45 
75 
36 
20 


10 

54 
38 
83 
47 
59 
38 

'9 
45 
37 


Mr.  Smith  in  the  room  below  T.  Flooring  between; 

no  plaster. 


Oct.  2Qth. 


(At   end 


of  eveninggether.) 


P.  &  T.  to- 
gether.) 
22       23 

72  22 

70         J/ 

*4       54 


Oct  21th. 


79 
26 


87 
58 

(P.  ^.to- 
gether. ) 
12       8j 
34       89 

i?       ?3  , 
Rest,    and 

experiments 

upstairs,  &&, 

interpolated 

here. 


78 

7i 

82 

45 
43 


8,9 

9>* 
60 

5*2 
*>4 


Oct  28th. 


(P.&T.to- 


49      6*5 

^5      4*9 

78       20 

Experiments 

upstairs 

here,  &c 

14      64 

69      4J 

54      7>* 
Pause  here. 


(P.  &  T.  to- 

get  her.) 
58      63 


66 

34 

59 

35 

7' 
76 


4*8 
2*1 
4** 
1*3 
8*3 
»*5 


Best  here. 
42       42 
18     24 

89      7*2 
16      6%o 

Pause  here. 

4A      **4 
7'       57 


Oct.  29th. 


Other    ex- 
periments, 
&c.,  and  then 
card  trial. 
<5D    Kve 
9C    5C 
8C    oS 


OcLMh. 


(P.  &T.  to- 

gether.) 

37 

87 

3* 

5A 

75 

*± 

40 

80 

78 

4,< 

48 

7** 

78 

47 

64 

49 

34 

74 

i&t 

here* 

75 

5* 

'5 
46 

a 

77 

« 

35 

84 

*4 

<* 

21 

0,1 

*3 

74 

60 

7>9 

86 

Jfi 

Pause  here. 

63       21 

38      54 


The  one  success  in  79  guesses  is  of  course  only  what  might  be 
expected  by  chance. 

Though  the  success  shown  in  obtaining  good  results  with  Mr.  Smith 
in  another  room  is,  so  far,  not  great,  we  do  not  at  all  think  that  hope 
of  better  success  ought  to  be  given  up.  There  are,  we  think,  several 
points  about  the  experiments,  taken  as  a  whole,  which  look  hopeful, 
as  a  discussion  of  them  will  perhaps  show. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  both  in  the  experiments  with  the  curtain 
between  agent  and  percipient  and  in  those  where  Mr.  Smith  stood 
in'  the  passage,  the  first  attempts  resulted  in  complete  blanks — 
the  percipient  had  no  impression  at  all.  Why  this  should  have 
been  it  is  hard  to  say.  We  always  tried  to  conceal  from  the 
percipient  that  Mr.  Smith  had  left  the  room  or  that  there  was 
any  change  in  the  conditions.     Of  course  we  cannot  feel   sure  that 


Experiments  in  Thought-Transference.  157 

we  succeeded  in  concealing  it,  but  at  any  rate  the  percipients  never 
alluded  to  his  absence,  never  seemed  conscious  of  it,  and  never 
suggested  anything  of  the  kind  as  a  cause  of  failure.  T.  several 
times  remarked  that  the  numbers  seemed  very  far  away  and  so  small 
as  to  be  difficult  to  see,  but  he  did  not  seem  to  connect  this  with 
the  distance  of  Mr.  Smith.  It  seems  unlikely,  therefore,  that  the 
absence  of  impression  was  merely  the  effect  of  suggestion — of  an  idea 
working  itself  out  in  the  percipient's  mind.  It  is  perhaps  more  likely 
that  the  idea  of  difficulty  in  the  agent's  mind  may  have  been  an  obstacle 
to  success.  However  this  may  have  been,  it  is  noteworthy  that  the  very 
first  time  we  succeeded  in  getting  any  result  at  all  with  Mr.  Smith  in  the 
passage  (September  24th),  we  were  very  fairly  successful — P.  obtaining  2 
complete  successes  and  3  half  successes  in  10  trials.  On  this  occasion  P. 
and  T.  sat  together  on  the  sofa,  near  the  wall  on  the  side  of  the  room  in 
which  the  door  was,  but  not  touching  the  wall.  It  had  been  intended 
that  Mr.  Smith  should  stand  just  on  the  other  side  of  the  wall,  so  as  to 
be  near  them,  but  with  the  wall  between.  This  plan  was,  however, 
forgotten.  Mr.  Myers,  who  was  with  Mr.  Smith  drawing  the  numbers 
for  him,  happened  to  take  up  that  position,  and  Mr.  Smith  stood  beyond 
the  door,  so  that  there  was  not  only  the  wall  with  the  closed  door  in  it 
between  him  and  the  percipients,  but  a  distance  in  a  straight  line  of 
perhaps  8  or  9  feet. 

We  had  no  further  opportunity  of  experimenting  in  this  room, 
as  Mr.  Smith,  who  was  temporarily  occupying  the  house,  was  on 
the  point  of  moving.  The  October  experiments  were  carried  on  in 
an  arch  on  the  beach  at  Brighton.  It  was  divided  into  two  floors — 
the  upper  one  entirely  occupied  by  a  sitting-room,  from  which  a 
staircase,  closed  by  a  door  at  the  bottom,  led  down  into  a  lobby.  In 
this  lobby,  the  door  being  closed,  Mr.  Smith  stood  or  sat  while  trying 
to  influence  the  percipients  from  a  distance,  they  sitting  upstairs.  But 
though  he  was  thus  below  them,  his  actual  distance  from  them  can  not, 
we  think,  have  been  materially  greater  than  on  September  24th.  It  is 
possible,  of  .  course,  that  a  feeling  of  greater  separation  may  have 
produced  a  bad  effect  on  the  experiments,  but  it  is  not  necessary  to 
suppose  this,  since  the  experiments  in  different  rooms  in  October  only 
shared  in  the  general  want  of  success  of  all  the  experiments  at  that 
time.  October  26  th  was  the  best  of  the  October  days  both  for  P.  and 
T.  with  Mr.  Smith  in  the  room  with  them,  and  we  observe  that 
on  this  day,  out  of  the  only  4  trials  made  when  Mr.  Smith  was  down- 
stairs, P.  had  one  success  and  one  half  success  and  T.  3  half  successes.  It 
is  to  be  regretted  that  we  did  not  begin  experiments  in  different  rooms 
earlier  on  this  day,  but  the  success  had  not  been  striking,  and  we  waited 
for  a  better  vein,  which  did  not  come.  On  the  whole,  though  Miss  B.'s 
want  of  success  is  an  argument   the  other  way,   the   result   of  out 


158  Experiments  in  Thought-Transference. 

experiments  rather  suggests  that  the  special  difficulty,  whatever  it  may 
have  been,  of  obtaining  good  results  with  the  agent  in  one  room  and 
the  percipient  in  another  was  overcome  on  September  24th,  at  least,  as 
far  as  P.  was  concerned,  and  that  what  interfered  with  success  in 
October,  when  by  far  the  larger  number  of  these  experiments  were  tried, 
was  some  general  difficulty.  Unfortunately,  it  seems  not  improbable 
that  this  general  difficulty  may  simply  have  been  boredom  on  the  part 
of  the  percipients  in  the  hypnotic  state,  of  which  there  were  several 
signs,  and  that  in  that  case  we  may  be  dependent  on  new  percipients  to 
enable  us  to  pursue  the  investigation. 

We  have  now  to  discuss  the  nature  of  the  impression  received.  It 
was  probably  owing  to  our  own  suggestion  at  the  beginning  that  this 
was  almost  always  visual,  though  it  is  possible  that  the  fact  that 
Mr.  Smith's  impression  was  visual  may  have  contributed  to  this  result. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  find  out  whether  a  new  percipient  could 
be  similarly  made  to  have  auditory  impressions.  In  two  or  three  cases 
T.  said  that  he  saw  nothing,  but  that  something  seemed  to  tell  him 
that  the  number  was  so-and-so,  but  "  something  "  never  told  him  right. 
The  difference  between  this  form  of  impression  and  his  more  ordinary 
one  is  well  illustrated  by  one  of  the  experiments  on  July  25th.  The 
number  drawn  was  66.  T.  said,  "  Something  says  37,  is  it  ? "  Mr. 
Smith  :  "  Can't  you  see  that  ?  "  T.  :  "  No."  S. :  "  Well,  I  want  you 
to  tell  me  what  you  see."  T. :  "I  can't  see  anything."  S. :  "  Well, 
look  hard."  T.  :  "  Now  it's  something— 6  ?  "  S.  :  «  Well  ?"  T.  :  "  I 
can't  see  anything  else."  S.  :  "  Well,  look  hard."  T.  :  "  Can't  see 
anything  else."  (Pause.)  S.  :  "  Can  you  see  anything  now  ?  "  T. 
"  I  see  a  6  ;  nothing  else."  The  number  was  then  put  away,  and  T. 
was  told  that  he  saw  only  6  because  the  number  consisted  of  two  sixes. 
T.  :  "  Oh,  that's  it,  is  it ;  but  I  ought  to  have  seen  two  sixes,  then,  and 
I  only  saw  one." 

This  last  remark  illustrates  a  characteristic  point  about  the 
impressions,  namely,  that  they  were  perfectly  definite  perceptions, 
not  to  be  changed  by  consciously  received  suggestions  or  by  an 
exercise  of  the  imagination.  Another  illustration  may  be  given  of 
this.  On  August  21st  P.  was  told  that  he  was  now  to  see  something 
quite  different — not  a  number  at  all,  and  Mr.  Smith  then  looked  at 
the  word  DOG.  As  after  some  time  he  had  had  no  impression  whatever, 
Mrs.  Sidgwick  told  him  it  was  a  word.  As  this  did  not  help  him  she 
added  that  it  was  something  he  was  fond  of.  Still  P.  had  no 
impression,  so  she  told  him  to  try  to  see  one  letter — the  first  letter  of 
the  word.  Presently  P.  said  :  "  I  see  an  S  or  an  8 — it's  gone  again  ; " 
quite  regardless  of  the  fact  that  a  word  could  not  begin  with  8. 

In  saying  that  the  impressions  were  perceptions — not  guesses  in  the 


Eocperimente  in  Thought-Transference.  159 

proper  sense  of  the  word — we  do  not  mean  that  they  were  always  clear ; 
but  when  not  clear  it  was,  so  to  speak,  clearly  perceived  that  they  were 
not  clear.  It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  decide  whether  the  impressions 
ought  to  be  called  hallucinations  because  the  percipients  had  their  eyes 
closed,  and  we  have,  therefore,  no  clear  conception  of  what  the  aggre- 
gate of  their  visual  sensations  was  and  what  relative  place  in  the 
aggregate  this  particular  one  had.  The  experiments  with  open  eyes 
when  the  numbers  were  seen  on  the  sheet  of  paper,  though  they 
prove  that  the  impression  could  be  externalised  as  a  visual  hallucina- 
tion, cannot,  of  course,  prove  that  it  had  the  same  characteristics  in 
a  different  stage  of  hypnotisation.  The  question  is  complicated  by 
the  fact  that  P.  was,  at  times  at  any  rate, — as  his  remarks  in 
the  seance  of  which  the  full  account  has  been  given  show— conscious 
that  he  was  not  seeing  in  an  ordinary  way,  but  that  his  eyes 
were  closed.  Nevertheless,  the  percipients  spoke  so  persistently 
of  seeing,  seemed  so  clearly  to  locate  what  they  saw  in  a  particular 
point  in  space,  and  so  clearly  at  times  expected  others  to  share  the 
impression,  that  we  can  hardly  doubt  that  it  had  to  them  the 
characteristics  of  a  sensation  received  through  the  eyes.  In  the  seances 
described  at  length  the  reader  has  already  some  of  the  material  for 
forming  a  judgment  on  this  point,  and  we  may  quote  here  a  few  more 
incidents  which  seem  to  throw  light  on  it. 

On  July  9th,  after  the  successful  guess  of  10,  Mrs.  Sidgwick  asked 
Mr.  Smith  in  writing,  which  was  our  mode  of  communication  with  each 
other  about  the  experiments,  to  tell  P,  that  he  (Mr.  Smith)  did  not 
know  what  he  would  see  now,  that  he  did  not  think  it  would  be 
numbers,  but  that  P.  was  to  tell  him  whatever  it  was.  Mrs.  Sidgwick 
then  handed  to  Mr.  Smith  the  letters  CAT,  taken  from  a  spelling 
game  and  arranged  in  the  lid  of  a  box  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  it 
impossible  for  P.  to  see  them  had  his  eyes  been  open.  The  experiment 
was  quite  unexpected  by  Mr.  Smith,  who  had  never  seen  the  spelling- 
box,  as  well  as  to  P.,  Mrs.  Sidgwick  hoping  that  the  mild  surprise 
would  produce  some  interesting  result.  P.  said  excitedly  (and  we 
think  pointing,  though  this  is  not  recorded  in  the  note-book):  "There 
it  is— there's  a  cat,  look."  S.  :  "  What  do  you  see  V  P. :  "  Why, 
CAT;  don't  you  see  it  ?  Did  you  think  I  saw  a  black  cat  or  a 
tabby  ?  I  wish  I  had  ;  I'm  very  fond  of  animals.  I  mean  the  letters." 
In  this  connection  we  may  mention  another  incident  which  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  present  experiments,  but  has  some  bearing  on  the 
question  under  discussion.  P.,  when  left  to  himself  in  the  hypnotic 
state,  usually  starts  dreams  and  hallucinations  on  his  own  account. 
These  generally  relate  to  the  circumstances  of  his  every  day  life ;  for 
instance,  he  will  carry  on  conversations  with  a  brother  or  companion 
whom  he  imagines  to  be  present.     Once,  when  left  in  this  way  with 


160  Experiments  in  ThoughUTransference. 

closed  eyes  while  we  were  attending  to  someone  else,  he  began  to  go 
through  all  the  action,  with  appropriate  words,  of  petting  an  imaginary 
cat  which  sat  on  his  knee  and  climbed  about  him  and  over  the  back  of 
his  chair.  When  Mr.  Smith  asked  him  what  he  had  got  there  he 
seemed  indignant  at  the  stupidity  of  the  question  because  Mr.  Smith 
must  be  able  to  see  that  it  was  a  cat. 

Such  remarks  as  the  following — selected  among  many — all  seem  to 
show  a  belief  on  the  part  of  P.  that  he  really  saw  the  numbers : — 

On  July  29th,  48  having  been  drawn,  P.  said:  "These  two  are 
plainer.  If  you  always  put  them  up  like  that  I'll  always  tell  you." 
Later  on  the  same  day  48  was  drawn  again.  After  a  pause  P.  said, 
with  excitement :  "That's  that  48  again,  just  as  clear  as  before." 

In  another  trial  on  the  same  day,  when  20  was  drawn,  P.  said : 
"45;  shall  I  wait  to  see  if  they  change?  I  see  them  up  in  the  air 
sideways  a  bit." 

On  August  21st — a  day  when  we  had  no  success  at  all — 17  was 
drawn,  and  P.  guessed  83,  remarking  that  they  were  "  bigger  numbers 
to-night.     I  seem  to  see  them  quicker." 

Later  on  the  same  day  he  remarked  of  one  of  his  impressions  that 
both  figures  seemed  half  rubbed  out.  Similar  to  this  was  a  remark  he 
made  on  October  30th.  The  number  drawn  was  44.  P.  said  :  "  2  and 
a  0,  the  0  plainest,  but  not  very  plain.  The  numbers  are  getting  too 
old,  I  think." 

On  October  29th,  in  one  of  the  trials  with  Mr.  Smith  downstairs, 
59  having  been  drawn,  P.  said  :  "I  can  see  5 — and  a  2,  one  after  the 
other — 5  again  and  2  underneath  it.  It  was  25  afterwards.  There  it 
is  now.     Do  you  see  it,  Mrs.  Sidgwick  ? " 

In  the  next  trial  the  impression  persisted  after  the  guess  had  been 
made  and  when  we  wanted  to  go  on  to  the  next.  So  Mrs.  Sidgwick 
suggested  to  P.  that  lie  should  look  away  from  it.  P.  said  he  would, 
then  laughed,  saying  he  had  looked  away  for  a  moment  and  then  looked 
back,  and  in  that  moment  the  numbers  had  gone.  Similarly  on 
October  30th,  after  guessing  a  number  (quite  wrong,  and  also 
unlike  T.,  who  had  spoken  first),  P.  said  :  "I  did  not  know  there  was 
another  up.  I  did  not  look,  and  there  it  was  in  front  of  me.  The  five 
was  the  clearer  of  the  two." 

On  another  occasion,  October  27th,  Mr.  Smith  being  in  the  same 
room  with  him,  P.  said  :  "  Would  you  mind  my  sitting  a  little  nearer ; 
I  can't  see  well."  He  was  told  that  the  numbers  had  been  brought 
nearer,  which  satisfied  him,  but  the  guess  he  made  was  nevertheless 
wrong. 

T.'s  remarks  about  his  impressions  were  very  similar.  Thus,  on 
July  25th,  the  number  drawn  being  25,  T.  saw  nothing  for  some  time, 
then  said  :  "  A  sort  of  5."     S.  :  "  Well,  what  else ?"     T.  :  " 5— 8— no, 


Experiments  in  Thought-Transference.  161 

not  8— it's  a  bad  shaped  one— 35."     S.  :  "  Sure  it's  a  3  ? "    T.  :  "  It's 
made  badly." 

Again,  on  October  27th,  the  number  drawn  being  34  and  P.  having 
guessed  98,  T.  said:  "8— looks  like  0— it's  a  9— the  0  not  quite 
plain — I  think  it's  meant  for  a  9 — one  over  the  other."  And  again  in 
the  next  trial :  "  It's  a  9  and  a  3 — 9  at  the  top.     That  9's  very  bad." 

On  September  20th.  T.  said,  in  answer  to  questions,  that  he  saw 
the  numbers  right  up  in  the  corner — dark  on  a  light  ground — very 
small.  He  also  complained  on  this  day  and  at  other  times  of  their 
being  "  such  a  long  way  off  you  can  scarcely  see  them." 

T.  gave  quite  a  different  account  of  his  impressions  when  guessing 
numbers  with  Mr.  Myers  as  agent.  He  did  not  then  talk  of  seeing, 
though  he  had  been  told  he  would  either  see  or  hear  a  number.  When 
asked  whether  he  heard  or  saw  it  he  replied,  "  No,  I  seem  to  imagine 
it";  and  he  said  the  same  when  Mr.  Leaf  was  trying  thought- 
transference  with  him. 

An  interesting  point  about  the  impressions  of  the  percipients  will 
already  have  been  noticed  by  the  reader,  namely,  their  frequently 
gradual  development,  along  with  which  we  may  consider  the 
varying  times  which  they  took  to  come.  Quickness  was  not  specially 
associated  with  Tightness.  On  August  16th,  T.'s  successful  attempts 
varied  in  the  time  they  took  from  15  seconds  to  2  J  minutes,  and  on 
August  17th,  P.  when  successful  took  from  45  seconds  to  3 £  minutes. 
We  did  not  always  time  our  experiments,  so  have  no  complete  record. 
The  longest  time  recorded  was  3  minutes  50  seconds.  This  was  on 
September  21st ;  the  impression,  when  it  came  on  that  occasion,  was 
wrong  and  also  fleeting,  and  the  attempts  before  and  after  it  produced 
no  impression  at  all.  A  rather  remarkable  experience  on  the  same  day, 
however,  suggests  that  the  impression,  even  when  right,  may  take  much 
longer  to  come  and  may  even  be  deferred — meaning  by  that  that  it  may 
be  received  by  the  percipient  after  the  agent  has  ceased  to  direct  his 
mind  to  it  and  when  he  has  begun  to  try  to  convey  to  the  percipient  a 
totally  different  impression.  What  happened  was  this.  After  two 
successive  correct  guesses  by  P.,  the  number  19  was  drawn.  We  waited 
for  5  J  minutes,  and  then,  as  P.  had  no  impression,  gave  it  up,  and  drew 
another  number,  which  turned  out  to  be  43.  Twenty-five  seconds  after 
the  new  number  was  drawn  P.  said  19.  This  was  recorded  and  another 
number  drawn,  viz.,  75,  13  seconds  after  which  P.  said  43.  Thus  two 
numbers  in  succession  were  rightly  given,  but  one  stage  late.  The 
numbers  had  not  been  named  aloud,  and  P.  had  a  double  sheet  of  paper 
over  his  head,  so  that  he  could  not  have  seen  them  even  if  they  were 
handled  carelessly  after  being  given  up.  It  makes  it  less  likely  that  the 
occurrence  was  due  to  chance  that  it  happened  in  a  run  of  successes ; 
there  had  been  4  half  successes  and  2  successes  in  the  6  ^raviowa  \»y\»X&. 


162  Experiments  in  Thougkt-Tram&ference. 

Once  at  least — viz.,  in  the  experiment  of  August  17th — P.  had  his 
impression  before  Mr.  Smith  looked  at  the  number.  It  was  wrong,  as 
might  be  expected,  but  he  stuck  to  it  after  Mr.  Smith  began  to  look.  The 
impressions  often  came  almost  immediately,  though  we  have  no  shorter 
time  recorded  than  13  seconds.  One  of  the  quickest  was  a  right  guess 
of  TVs  on  October  26th.  To  stimulate  their  interest,  we  had  put  P.  and 
T.  en  rapport  with  one  another  and  told  them  to  try  who  could  see  the 
numbers  quickest.  Then  21  was  drawn,  and  instantly  T.  said,  "  2  and 
a  1."  So  instantaneous  was  it  that  Mrs.  Sidgwick,  who  did  not  know 
the  numbers,  thought  that  T.  had  guessed  at  random  and  without 
waiting  for  the  usual  visual  impression,  in  order  to  be  before  P.  She 
taxed  him  with  this,  but  he  declared  that  he  had  seen  it. 

The  gradual  development  of  the  figures  was  of  two  kinds — either 
one  figure  coming  before  the  other,  or  the  figures  forming  themselves  by 
degrees.  A  good  instance  of  the  first  is  afforded  by  one  of  T.'s 
successful  guesses  on  August  16th.  The  number  was  32.  He  said  3. 
Professor  Sidgwick  said  :  "Do  you  see  only  one  ?  "  T.  :  "  Yes.'* 
Prof.  S.  :  "  Try  to  see  another."  T.  :  "  2."  Mr.  Wingfield,  who  was 
taking  the  time,  recorded  30  seconds  for  the  first  and  55  seconds  for  the 
second.  Again,  on  July  29th,  the  number  drawn  being  30,  P.  said: 
"  I  see  3 — I  see  one  of  them  now.  Mr.  Smith,  please  look  at  both  of 
them.*9  S.  :  "  All  right,  I'm  looking  at  both  of  them."  P.  :  "  There's 
a  0." 

The  following  is  a  case  of  gradual  development  of  one  of  the 
figures.  It  was  on  July  27th ;  the  number  drawn  was  89  ;  P.  said : 
"  9."  S. :  "  Yes  1 "  P. :  "  8  in  front  of  it.  I  thought  it  was  going  to 
be  a  0  at  first." 

But  one  of  T.'s  guesses  of  cards  was  as  marked  an  instance  of  gradual 
development  as  any,  though  his  impression  was  not  derived  from  Mr. 
Smith.  Mr.  Smith  was  downstairs  looking  at  a  9  of  clubs.  P.,  who 
was  not  en  rapport  witli  T.,  guessed  5  of  clubs.  Then  T.  said :  "  Has 
Mr.  Smith  put  anything  up  yet  ?  Oh,  yes,  yes  (meditatively).  I  see 
it  now  (then  counting),  1,  2,  3,  4,  5.  5,  yes — a  black — 5  of  clubs. 
Oh,  I  see  them  plain ;  5  still." 

Quickness  and  clearness  did  not  necessarily  go  together ;  for* 
instance,  in  one  of  the  trials  on  October  30th  (wrong,  but  made  more 
quickly  than  his  recent  attempts)  P.  said,  "That's  quick,  isn't  itt** 
Asked  whether  it  was  plain,  he  said,  "Not  very,  but  it  came 
suddenly  ;  the  others  took  some  time  to  form." 

Nor,  again,  did  clearness  and  Tightness  necessarily  go  together, 
though  we  do  not  remember  that  P.  was  ever  excited  by  the  vividneai 
of  an  impression  except  on  certain  occasions  when  it  was  right.  T.  wai 
never  excited  at  all. 

T.,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  began  to  guess  numbers  when  we  hid 


Experiments  in  Thought-Transference.  163 

not  intentionally  called  his  attention  to  the  subject ;  he  had,  however, 
seen  P.  doing  it  before  he  was  himself  hypnotised,  and  this  may 
have  suggested  itself  to  him.  P.,  as  far  as  we  remember,  only  once  did 
anything  of  the  kind,  and  that  instance  was  a  rather  curious  one.  He 
had  been  left  in  a  deep  sleep  with  a  paper  over  his  head  and  at  a 
considerable  distance  from  Mr.  Smith  and  T.,  while  we  were  trying  the 
experiments  with  the  latter  with  his  eyes  open  on  October  29th.  Mr. 
Smith  was  looking  at  the  4  of  spades  and  T.  had  been  describing  the 
imaginary  knave  of  diamonds  which  he  saw  on  the  paper  in  front  of 
him.  Suddenly  P.  said :  "  Let's  have  a  game  of  cards1 — 4  of  spades/' 
S.  :  "  What's  that  you  are  saying  V  P.  :  "  About  a  4  of  spades  I  saw. 
I  thought  you  were  putting  up  cards." 

We  now  come  to  the  most  important  question  of  all,  namely,  how 
the  impressions,  which  thus  visually  presented  themselves  to  the 
percipients,  reached  their  minds. 

Before  discussing  the  successful  attempts  at  divining  the  number 
on  which  Mr.  Smith  was  concentrating  his  attention,  it  is  worth  notic- 
ing that  in  certain  unsuccessful  attempts  when  P.  and  T.  were  guessing 
together,  they  influenced  each  other,  or,  at  any  rate,  P.  influenced  T. 
There  were  156  of  these  joint  trials.  In  11  cases  the  order  of  guessing 
is  not  noted,  in  21,  which  we  may  call  mixed  guesses,  the  digits  were 
named  singly,  and  either  alternately  by  the  two  percipients,  or  else  one 
having  named  a  digit,  the  other  named  two,  and  then  the  first  finished. 
In  38  cases  T.  completed  his  statement  before  P.  began ;  and  in  86  P. 
similarly  guessed  first.  Now  among  these  86  cases  in  which  T.  did  not 
make  his  guess  until  after  P.  had  finished,  he  guessed  the  same  two 
digits  as  P.  16  times,2  in  13  of  which  the  digits  were  in  the  same  order 
as  P.'s.  This  might  not  have  seemed  remarkable  if  we  had  previously  had 
reason  to  suppose  that  T.  could  always  hear  P.,  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
they  were  usually  not  en  rapport  with  each  other — neither  apparently 
knew  that  the  other  was  present,  and  when  assured  that  he  was  and 
communication  attempted,  each  would  get  annoyed  with  the  other's 
rudeness  in  not  answering  him,  however  much  he  raised  his  voice  and 
shouted  to  him.  And  the  proportion  of  these  imitative  guesses  was 
rather  larger  when  they  were  not  en  rapport  than  when  they  were. 

1  One  of  our  devices  to  stimulate  their  interest  had  been  to  call  guessing  cards  a 
game,  the  day  before. 

2  None  of  these  were  successful  guesses.  Had  they  been,  the  second  could  not 
of  course  have  been  counted.  But  though  P.  and  T.  did  not  influence  each  other  for  good, 
there  is  some  reason  to  think  that  they  sometimes  influenced  each  other  for  evil— the 
impression  from  the  co-percipient  overcoming  that  from  Mr.  Smith.  Thus  on  one 
occasion  (September  24th),  when  the  number  drawn  was  74,  T.  said  7,  then  P.  said 
57,  upon  which  T.  said  75.  Asked  to  repeat,  he  said  :  "  I  think  it  was  7,4;  I  said 
5  but  it  was  more  like  4— had  a  tail  to  it."  P.  and  T.  were  not  en  rapport  on  this 
occasion. 


164  Experiments  in  Thought-Transference. 

T.  followed  P.  when  not  en  rapport  with  him  63  times,1  in  10  of  which 
his  guess  was  the  same  as  P.'s,  besides  2  where  he  gave  P.'s  digits  in 
reverse  order.  So  large  a  proportion  as  this  can  scarcely  be  due  to 
chance,  and  we  could  strengthen  the  presumption  that  it  was  not,  by 
an  examination  of  the  mixed  guesses  and  of  those  in  which  T.  gave 
one  number  the  same  as  P.'s,  or  vice  versd.  The  influence  of  T.  on  P. 
was  less  marked,  but  appeared  to  exist.  We  must  therefore  suppose 
that  sounds  which  fell  unconsciously  on  the  ear  yet  produced  an  impression 
on  the  mind,  of  which  the  percipient  became  aware  solely  through  its 
reproduction  in  a  visual  form — a  supposition  which  is,  of  course,  entirely 
in  accordance  with  observations  made  by  others. 

One  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  this  is  that  for  evidential  purposes 
in  psychical  research  no  reliance  can  be  placed  on  the  fact  that  a 
person — whether  hypnotised  or  not — is  entirely  unaware  that  an 
impression  has  reached  him  through  his  senses,  if  by  any  possibility  it 
could  so  have  reached  him.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  examine  the 
experiments  dealt  with  in  this  paper  with  anxious  care  in  order  to  see 
whether  there  was  any  possible  channel  of  sense  through  which  the 
agent's  impression  could  have  reached  the  percipients. 

The  eye  is,  we  think,  absolutely  excluded.  There  were  a  sufficient 
number  of  successful  experiments  with  Mr.  Smith  behind  the  percipient 
and  witli  the  percipient's  head  covered  over,  to  make  it  unnecessary  to 
consider  the  various  possibilities  of  careless  handling  of  the  numbers* 
reflection  in  the  cornea,  or  changing  facial  expression  and  gesture. 

The  sense  of  touch  may  also,  we  think,  be  regarded  as  excluded. 
There   was  never  any   direct  contact  between  agent  and   percipient 
except  in  one  or  two  cases  where  it  was  purposely  tried  and  did 
produce  success,  and  it  seems  absurd  to  suppose  that  vibrations  of  tlfc. 
floor  caused  by  rhythmical  movements  of  the  agent,  of  which  he  was 
self  unconscious  and   which  were  invisible   to  others,  can  have 
powerful  enough  to  affect  the  percipient. 

We  are  reduced,  then,  to  the  sense  of  hearing.  Here,  again,  all  i 
dications  by  leading  questions  or  changes  in  the  tone  of  voice  are  « 
eluded  by  the  success  of  the  experiments  when  all  who  knew  the  nui 
ber  were  absolutely  silent.  There  seem  to  be  only  two  ways  in  whi 
the  impression  could  have  reached  the  percipient  through  his  earti 
either  by  means  of  faint  unconscious  whispering  of  the  number  bv 
Smith  in  the  effort  of  concentrating  his  attention  on  it,  or  by  me«B> 


1  It  ought  to  be  stated  that  in  two  of  these  cases  Mrs.  Sidgwick  rei>eated 
number  after  P.  before  T.  apoku.  She  was  herself,  however,  not  en  rapport  withT-  ml 
one  of  those  two,  and  as  regards  the  other,  it  did  not  appear  from  other  experiittex*.* 
that  T.  was  easily  influenced  in  his  guesses,  consciously. 

2  Compare  some  of  the  incidents  mentioned  in  the  paper  on  recent  expeiim©**^1 
in  crystal  vision,  Proceedings,  Vol.  V.  See  also  in  this  connection  M.  Pierre  Jan«fc  * 
interesting  volume,  L'Autoinatismc  Psychologiquc. 


Experiments  in  Thought-Transference.  165 

of  faint  unconscious  counting  of  the  number  by  breathing,  or  some 
other  rhythmical  movement  producing  sound.  Both  suppositions 
appear  to  involve  hyperesthesia  in  the  percipient,  since  the  supposed 
sounds  were  unperceived  by  attentive  bystanders,  and  nothing  else 
that  we  observed  gave  us  any  reason  to  suppose  that  the  percipients 
were  hyperesthetic ;  indeed  their  apparent  unconsciousness  of  Mr. 
Smith's  absence  when  he  was  in  another  room  seems  to  show  that  they 
were  not.  But  let  us  assume  hyperesthesia ;  let  us  also  assume,  what 
we  have  no  ground  for  regarding  as  at  all  probable,  that  Mr.  Smith 
may  have  whispered  or  counted  unconsciously  after  his  attention  had 
been  called  to  the  danger  of  doing  so;  and  let  us  examine  the  two 
suppositions.  On  either  a  certain  number  of  failures  would  almost 
certainly  occur,  in  which'  the  indications  given  would  be  imperfectly 
apprehended. 

Of  the  two  suppositions,  unconscious  whispering  seems  the  less 
improbable,  because  the  concentration  of  the  mind  on  a  written  or 
printed  number  with  a  view  to  having  as  intense  an  impression  of  it 
as  possible,  is  found  to  cause  a  certain  tendency  to  say  the  number 
mentally,  but  no  tendency  to  count  it.  The  symbol  for  a  number  is  in 
this  respect  unlike,  for  instance,  a  playing  card,  where  a  tendency  to 
count  the  pips  often  does  accompany  the  effort  to  concentrate  one's 
mind  on  it.  Now  any  whispering  or  faint  pronouncing  of  the  number 
would  lead,  one  would  think,  to  numbers  whose  names  have  common 
characteristic  letters  being  mistaken  for  each  other.  Thus  we  should 
expect  to  find  fours  and  fives  interchanged  .because  of  the  f;  sixes  and 
sevens  because  of  the  s;  perhaps  twos  and  eights,  and  ones  and  nines 
because  of  the  t  and  the  n ;  and  possibly  fives  and  nines  because  of  the  i. 
Three  would  stand  by  itself  as  quite  different  from  all  the  others.  "We 
confine  ourselves  to  the  single  digits,  because  the  names  of  double 
numbers  are  practically  compounded  of  the  names  of  the  two  digits  of 
which  they  are  composed. 

Now  if  we  examine  the  guesses  we  do  not  find  that  any  of  these 
mistakes  are  prevalent.  The  following  three  tables  show  the  numbers 
drawn,  with  the  corresponding  guesses,  analysed  into  single  digits  : — 


Experiments  in  Thottght-Tremaferenee. 


Table  V. 

P.'a  Guesses  Alone  on  Successful  Days,  Mb.  Smith  being  rs  te 

Same  Room  with  Hue 


I! 

Numbers  Guessed. 

/ 

' 

3 

4 

3 

6 

1 

a 

9 

' 

i 

/ 

'7 

3 

4 

4 

S 

1 

a 

a 

, 

. 

43 

• 

' 

'4 

S 

a 

' 

3 

a6 

3 

* 

8 

a, 

3 

3 

3 

' 

3 

' 

46 

4 

4 

6 

93 

* 

3 

* 

' 

3 

• 

• 

46 

S 

* 

■» 

4 

4 

j6 

4 

3 

J 

3 

' 

3 

46 

6 

a 

a 

a 

4 

' 

t4 

t 

3 

* 

3 

* 

37 

7 

* 

4 

* 

* 

4 

4 

*7 

3 

45 

S 

1 

1 

8 

' 

3 

3 

*> 

' 

3 

44 

9 

* 

' 

1 

I 

' 

* 

1a 

• 

• 

a, 

o 

3 

4 

1 

* 

* 

1 

* 

s 

« 

Totdi 

3' 

4i 

J* 

46 

37 

aS 

46 

40 

*4 

*7 

r* 

376 

Experiments  in  Thought-Transference. 


T.'s  Guesses  Alone  on  Successful  Days,  Mr.  Smith  being  in  the 
Same  Room  with  Him. 


E  . 
§1 

Numbers  Guessed. 

■a  & 

ii 

■ 

' 

J 

4 

J 

6 

1 

8 

9 

- 

SHB. 

3 
4 
S 
6 
7 
8 
9 

Totals 

9 

3 

3 

4 
J 

*9 

9 
3 

3 

4 
11 

3 
3 

3 
3 

3 
3 

1 

3 

3 

j 

i 

i 
3 

' 

*4 

'7 

'3 
iS 
V 
'4 

9 
'4 

" 

» 

r8 

» 

9 

7 

& 

7 

• 

166 

Experiments  in  'l^tought-Tranaferenm. 


Table  VII. 

All  Guesses  with  Mb.  Smith  in  the  Sahb  Rooh  as  the  Percipient. 

or  ONLY  Divided  fbom  them  bt  a  Curt  aim. 


II 

Numbers  Guessed. 

IS 

' 

* 

3 

4 

3 

6 

7 

s 

9 

• 

1! 

3 

4 

5 

6 
7 
S 
9 

43 
*4 

7 

'3 

4 
7 

j8 
34 

*4 
16 
9 

31 
7 

S 
6 

J4 

13 

'3 

36 
10 

*7 

S» 
,6 

13 
'3 

S 

8 
AS 
13 
3S 

iS 
'3 
6 
9 

*3 
9 
^3 

'9 
46 
j6 

3 

7 

6 

7 
14 
4° 
'4 
J 
S 

13 

s 

7 
6 

S 
13 
& 

34 
6 

3 

6 
» 

9 
9 

3 
4 
7 
'9 
6 

4 
3 
3 
3 
3 
3 
J 
9 
'9 

4 
3 

6 
S 

3 

J 

168 
140 
,66 
'69 

12S 

'4° 
'tS 
147 

7' 
S3 

Totals 

t-UI.'rw'li 

143 

"'\m 

'34 

'47 

14S 

136 

lf$ 

7* 

SS 

39 

'35* 

Eocperimente  in  Tkcmght-TraTisference.  169 

Table  V.  gives  P.'s  guesses  on  successful  days,  when  he  was 
guessing  by  himself,  uninfluenced  therefore  by  T.  Table  VI.  similarly 
gives  T.'s  guesses  on  successful  days.  Table  VII.  gives  all  the  guesses 
of  all  the  percipients  (except  one  or  two  where  more  than  two  digits 
were  guessed),  whether  joint  or  not,  when  Mr.  Smith  was  either  in  the 
same  room  with  them  or  divided  from  them  only  by  a  curtain.  The 
first  column  in  each  table  refers  to  the  numbers  drawn,  the  first 
line  to  the  number  guessed.  If  therefore,for  example, we  want  to  see  in 
Table  V.  how  many  times  5  was  guessed  as  7,  we  find  5  in  the  first  column 
and  follow  the  line  headed  by  it  till  we  come  under  7  in  the  first  line. 
The  number  thus  arrived  at  namely  3,  is  the  number  of  times  5  was 
guessed  by  P.  as  7  on  his  successful  days.  In  making  these  tables  we 
have  counted  guesses  in  which  both  digits  were  given  in  reversed 
order,  as  reversed,  so  they  are  not  included  among  the  cases  of  corre- 
spondence between  numbers  drawn  and  numbers  guessed.  After 
allowing  for  what  would  probably  have  happened  by  chance  alone,  the 
number  of  guesses  with  both  digits  right  but  reversed  is  about 
5  per  cent,  of  the  number  completely  right.  If,  therefore,  the  same 
tendency  to  reverse  the  number  occurred  in  unsuccessful  attempts, 
when  the  number  was  imperfectly  apprehended,  we  must  assume  that 
about  5  per  cent,  of  the  numbers  in  the  tables  are  wrong,  when  judged 
in  relation  to  the  origin  of  the  idea  in  the  percipient's  mind. 

Now  let  us  consider  the  effect  of  counting.  This  would  lead  to  a 
tendency  to  guess  the  numbers  immediately  above  and  below  the  right 
one,  especially  in  the  larger  numbers.  Here  also  we  confine  ourselves 
to  single  digits,  since  the  digits,  if  there  is  counting  at  all,  must  be 
counted  separately.  It  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  any  one  would  count 
up  to  72,  for  example,  because  he  was  concentrating  his  mind  on  that 
number.  Turning  to  the  tables  we  find  from  Table  VII.  that  eight 
mistakes  were  made  twenty  times  or  more.  These  were  :  1  guessed  as 
3  and  as  5,  2  guessed  as  3,  3  guesssed  as  2,  4  guessed  as  1  and  as  3,  7 
guessed  as  2  and  8  guessed  as  3.  Of  these  eight,  only  three  could 
possibly  be  explained  by  unconscious  counting,  viz.,  3  for  2,  2  for  3, 
and  3  for  4.  But  of  these  the  two  first  might  equally  well  be  explained 
as  results  of  the  kind  of  imperfect  vision  of  the  number  so  often 
complained  of  by  the  percipients,  and  this  is  also  the  explanation 
suggested  by  the  most  prevalent  mistake  of  all,  namely  8  guessed  as  3. 
And  that  this  is  the  true  explanation  is  further  suggested  by  the  fact 
that  3  is  very  seldom  guessed  as  8.  For  though  an  8  half  rubbed  out 
might  resemble  a  3,  a  3  could  not  so  easily  be  converted  into  a  badly 
seen  8, whereas  with  2  and  3  the  possibility  of  mistake  would  be  recipro- 
cal ;  an  imperfect  2  might  be  mistaken  for  a  3  as  easily  as  a  3  for  a  2. 
On  the  whole,  therefore,  we  think  that  an  examination  of  the  facts 
affords  no  support  worth  considering  for  the  supposition — in  \\&^i  *& 


170  Experiments  in  Thought-TraTisference* 

we  have  said  extremely  improbable— of  unconscious  counting  hyper- 
aesthetically  heard.  Further  the  supposition  of  counting  cannot 
possibly  explain  the  successful  guessing  of  CAT  and  the  guessing  of 
BEEF  for  BEE.  If  this  was  the  result  of  unconscious  auditory 
indications  at  all,  it  must  have  been  of  whispering,  a  supposition,  as  we 
have  seen,  quite  unsupported  by  anything  in  the  guessing  of  numbers. 

Finally,  though  our  success  with  the  agent  in  another  room  was 
comparatively  small,  it  was,  in  P.'s  case,  quite  sufficiently  beyond  the 
probable  amount  to  afford  support  to  the  view  that  the  conditions  of 
success,  whatever  they  were,  were,  at  any  rate,  independent  of  uncon- 
scious auditory  indications. 

Before  leaving  the  tables  we  may  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  a 
decided  number-habit  is  exhibited,1  especially  by  T.,  which  led  him  to 
guess  the  higher  numbers,  7,  8,  and  9,  comparatively  seldom,  and  that 
this  seems  to  have  affected  successful  and  unsuccessful  guesses  alike. 
The  number  9  had  of  course  a  smaller  chance  of  being  guessed  right  on 
account  of  the  absence  of  numbers  above  90.  There  were  scarcely 
enough  trials,  probably,  to  reveal  any  number-habit  as  regards  double 
numbers,  but  the  guesses  extended  over  the  whole  range.  All  numbers 
turned  up,  all  were  guessed.  Only  fourteen  were  never  guessed  right. 
These  were  14,  25,  28,  33,  47,  51,  54,  55,  60,  62,  73,  77,  85,  90.  One 
number,  viz.,  24  was  guessed  right  seven  times  including  two  of  "W.'s 
guesses  on  July  4th.  One  number,  48,  was  guessed  right  five  times. 
Six  were  guessed  right  four  times,  viz.,  15,  16,  30,  35,  36,  75.  Ten 
were  guessed  right  three  times,  viz.,  20,  29,  32,  37,  39,  42,  58,  71, 
76,  87.     The  rest  were  guessed  right  either  once  or  twice. 


1  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remind  our  readers  that  a  number-habit  affecting  the 
percipient  only  can  have  no  tendency  to  increase  the  number  of  successful  guesses. 
4  discussion  of  this  subject  will  be  found  at  page  209. 


«pp*»«*.]  International  Congress.  171 


SUPPLEMENT. 


L 

INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS  OF  EXPERIMENTAL 

PSYCHOLOGY. 

By  A  T.  Myers,  M.D. 


The  Congress  of  Physiological  Psychology — whose  name,  however, 
was  changed  in  the  course  of  its  debates  to  that  printed  above — held  its 
fat  meeting  in  Paris,  August  6-1  Oth.  Nearly  200  members  had 
ascribed  themselves  (the  fee  being  10  francs),  and  more  than  half  of 
tbne  attended  the  meetings,  although  the  rival  attractions  of  other 
ttngresses  tended  to  make  attendance  somewhat  irregular.  The 
frincipal  meetings  were  held  in  the  new  Amphitheatre  of  the  Ecole  de 
Udecine,  and  the  sub-sections  met  in  the  class-rooms  adjoining,  the 
forming  body  having  placed  these  very  convenient  quarters  at  the 
fcposal  of  the  Congress  without  payment. 

Prof.  Charcot,  under  whose  presidency  the  Congress  was  convened, 
*»  unfortunately  prevented  from  being  present  by  indisposition, 
tot  Dr.  Magnan  and  Prof.  Ribot  as  Vice-Presidents,  Prof.  Richet 
*  General  Secretary,  and  MM.  Gley  and  Marillier  as  Assistant 
[Secretaries  extended  a  courteous  welcome  to  the  foreigners  pre- 
set Members  from  Austria,  Belgium,  Brazil,  Chili,  England,  Ger- 
*«iy,  Holland,  Italy,  Mexico,  Roumania,  Russia  (including  Finland 
■nd  Poland),  Salvador,  Sweden,  Switzerland,  and  the  United 
totes,  took  part  in  the  debates,  and  we  believe  that  members 
fan  other  countries  were  also  present.  The  English  Society  for 
fychical  Research  was  represented  by  the  President  and  Mrs. 
fcjgwick,  Mr.  Barkworth,  Mr.  Kleiber,  Dr.  Myers,  and  Mr.  F. 
'•  H.  Myers.  The  American  Society  of  the  same  name  was  repro- 
bated by  Prof.  William  James,  Prof.  Jastrow,  and  Mr.  Riley  (Dele- 
0Ke  of  the  United  States  to  the  Exhibition).     M.  Marillier,  one  of 

ft  Secretaries  of  the  Congress,  is  also  Secretary  for  France  to  our 
fcoety.  Many  men  well  known  in  Medicine,  Psychology,  Physiology, 
J  other  branches  of  Science  were  present.  Among  them  were 
H  Ballet,  Bernheim  (Nancy),  Binet,  Bourru  (Rochefort),  Carus, 
mkwaky  (Kharkoff),  Dejerine,  Delbceuf  (Liege),    Drill   (Moscow) 


172  Inteimational  Congress  of  [Svpptarat 

Espinas  (Bordeaux),  Ferrari,  Fontan  (Toulon),  Forel  (Zurich),  Galton, 
Grote  (Moscow),  Pierre  Janet  (Havre),  Jules  Janet,  Lapotine 
(Moscow),  Liegeois  (Nancy),  Lombroso  (Turin),  Miinsterberg,  Neiglick 
(Helsingfors),  von  Schrenk-Notzing  (Munich),  Ploix,  de  Bochas 
(Tours),  Seglas,  Tokarsky  (Moscow),  and  de  Varigny. 

The  proceedings  were  opened  on  August  6th  by  an  address  from 
Prof.  Ribot,  who  worthily  filled  the  chair  in  Dr.  Charcot's  absence. 
He  dwelt  with  justifiable  exultation  on  the  recent  abundant  and  varied 
development  of  psychological  studies — in  the  direction  in  which  he 
has  himself  been  a  pioneer  and  a  leader — and  pointed  out  how  this 
development,  tending  as  it  does  to  substitute  a  partially  objective  and 
physiological  for  a  purely  subjective  and  introspective  method,  has 
caused  the  need  of  mutual  explanation  among  psychologists  to  be  more 
strongly  felt.  He  concluded  by  expressing  a  hope  that  this  Inter- 
national Congress  of  Psychologists  would  be  the  first  of  a  series  of 
similar  meetings. 

The  Secretary — Prof.  Ch.  Richet — then  proceeded  to  sketch  briefly 
the  task  marked  out  for  the  Congress.  He  explained  that  among  the 
questions  proposed  for  discussion  there  were  three  that  especially 
demanded  "  collective  "  work.  Among  these  he  placed  first  the  statis- 
tical inquiry  into  Hallucinations,  mentioning  the  work  that  had  been . 
already  done  in  this  department  by  the  Society  for  Psycliical  Research, 
and  especially  by  Mr.  Gurney,  "  dont  la  science  deplore  la  mort  prema- 
turee."  He  dwelt  on  the  importance  of  concentrated  effort  to  establish, 
if  it  be  possible  to  establish,  by  precise  and  trustworthy  testimony,  the 
fact  of  coincidental  or  "  veridical  "  hallucinations,  before  proceeding  to 
frame  hypo  theses  to  explain  the  fact.  On  this  point  he  thought  the 
Congress  would  be  unanimous. 

After  speaking  of  the  question  of  Heredity,  as  the  second  subject 
calling  for  collective  effort,  he  went  on  to  the  third,  "  qui  passionne 
aujourd'hui  tous  les  psychologues,11  the  question  of  Hypnotism.  He 
expressed  a  hope  that  the  rivalry  between  the  schools  of  the  SalpStriere 
and  of  Nancy  would  soon  be  a  thing  of  the  past ;  dwelt  on  the  need  of 
introducing  more  precision  into  the  terminology  of  Hypnotism ;  and 
pointed  out  that  the  proper  business  of  the  Congress  was  not  to  solve 
questions — which  can  only  be  done  by  the  labour  of  individual  experi- 
ment ei*s — but,  by  free  mutual  communication  of  the  results  of  such 
labour,  both  to  obtain  a  clear  view  of  the  questions  already  solved,  and 
to  mark  out  lines  of  future  study. 

The  Congress  then  divided  for  its  morning  meetings  into  four  sub- 
sections, dealing  respectively  with  Hallucinations,  Heredity,  Hypnotism, 
and  the  Muscular  Sense.  A  fifth  section  dealing  with  "  Coloured 
Audition,"  or  the  mental  association  between  certain  sounds  and  certain 
colours,  was  formed  in  the  course  of  the  proceedings. 


Eocperimental  Psychology.  173 

The  section  on  the  study  of  Hallucinations  met  on  August  7th,  and 
discussed  the  question  whether  the  sanction  of  the  Congress  should  be 
invited  for  a  further  prosecution  of  the  Census  of  Hallucinations,  <fcc., 
as  already  set  on  foot  by  Prof.  Sidgwick  in  England  and  France, 
and  by  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research  in  the  United 
States;  or  whether  some  modification  of  the  scheme  was  desirable. 
Prof.  Pierre  Janet,  Dr.  Ballet  (the  well-known  author  of  Le 
Langage  IntJrieur),  and  others  urged  that  the  hallucinations  of  the 
insane  or  hysterical  should  be  studied  and  recorded  along  with  the 
casual  or  unique  hallucinations  of  sane  and  healthy  persons.  It  was 
agreed  that  information  of  this  kind  also  should  be  collected,  but  that 
the  "census-paper"  should  be  adopted  practically  as  it  stood,  with 
one  or  two  verbal  modifications.  A  report  to  this  effect  was  presented 
by  M.  Marillier  to  the  Congress  on  the  same  afternoon,  and  some 
further  discussion  followed.  Prof.  Pelbceuf,  of  Liege,  recommended  that 
special  note  should  be  taken  as  to  the  mental  habit, — "  visual,  audile, 
or  motile," — of  the  subjects  of  hallucinations  of  each  of  these  types, 
with  which  Mr.  Galton  and  others  have  made  the  world  of  science 
familiar. 

The  resolution  to  continue  the  statistical  inquiry  on  its  present  lines 
was  then  agreed  to  without  any  dissentients. 

Prof.  Grote,  of  Moscow,  M.  Marillier,  Prof.  James,  and  Prof. 
Sidgwick  were  afterwards  designated  by  the  Committee  of  Organisa- 
tion to  superintend  the  work  in  their  respective  countries. 

A  "  questionnaire  "  for  wide  circulation  was  also  adopted  by  the 
section  on  Heredity,  which  met  under  the  presidency  of  Mr.  Galton, 
— who  subsequently  presented  to  the  Congress  a  very  interesting  report 
on  the  chief  questions  in  this  department  that  appear  to  admit 
of  experimental  solution  through  co-operative  work.  On  the  motion 
of  Prof.  Gruber,  of  Roumania,  the  section  on  Coloured  Audition 
adopted  a  similar  method  for  collecting  information.  The  section  on 
Hypnotism  was,  as  had  been  expected,  the  most  largely  attended.  We 
give  a  brief  account  of  some  of  the  speeches. 

The  Committee  on  Hypnotism  met  first  on  Wednesday  morning, 
August  7th.  Prof.  Delbceup  (of  Liege)  was  elected  chairman  for 
the  day,  and  Prof.  Ch.  Richet  introduced  the  discussion  on  the 
terms  that  had  best  be  used  in  hypnotic  description.  Along  with  M. 
Brissaud  he  had  drawn  up  definitions  of  many  of  the  chief  words,  and 
he  wished  further  suggestions  and  discussion,  especially  on  "  Hypno- 
tism," "Animal  Magnetism,"  and  "Somnambulism."  "Hypnotism"  was 
a  word  introduced  by  Braid,  and  might  be  defined  as  an  artificially  pro- 
duced somnambulism  (somnambulisme  provoqud).  "Somnambulism" 
they  proposed  to  define  as  a  condition  analogous  to  sleep,  but  differing 
from  it  in  retaining  more  signs  of  external  impressions  (^  persistans  de 


174  International  Congress  of  [s«ppk«*t. 

quelques  phtnomenes  de  la  vie  de  relation),  and  differing  also  from  the 
normal  waking   state  by  showing  an  alteration  of  personality  and  a 
complete  loss  of  memory.     It  might  be  natural  or  artificially  induced. 
When  natural  it  was  a  pathological   condition,  commonest  in  young 
subjects,  and  coming  on,  as  a  rule,  during  normal  sleep.     It  might  be 
artificially  induced  by  some  ill-defined  manipulation  which  was  called 
"  magnetic/1  or  by  suggestion,  or  by  some  physical  action  such  as  gazing 
at  a  bright  body,  or  more  often  by  some  combination  of  these  causes. 
"  Animal  Magnetism  "  was  a  term  which  was  not  accurately  defined  in 
common  use,  but  which  could  be  used  for  all  the  agencies  which  bring 
on   somnambulism ;  for  example,  the  "  passes "  that  were   sometimes 
called  "  magnetic."     Magnetism  used  to  be  considered  an  exact  term  in 
the  16th  and  17  th  centuries  when  applied  to  both  plants  and  animals, 
and  it  very  nearly  corresponded  then  to  what  was  now  called  action  at 
a  distance. 

In  the  discussion  that  followed  on  the  definition  of  these  terms,  MM. 
Bernheim,  Forel,  Espinas,  Liegeois,  Ch.  Richet,  and  Delbeeuf  took  an 
active  part,  but  it  was  found  that  an  exact  emendation  of  any  such 
difficult  phrases  as  these  definitions  could  not  be  reached  by  as  large  a 
gathering  as  about  40  members  of  this  Committee.  Prof.  Bernheim 
vigorously  expressed  his  opinion  that  our  knowledge  of  Animal 
Magnetism  and  Hypnotism  was  as  yet  too  imperfect  to  allow  of  our  fixing 
their  limits  exactly  ;  he  was  himself  inclined  to  keep  the  term  Animal 
Magnetism  for  historic  use  as  describing  the  phenomena  of  a  past 
generation ;  to  employ  Hypnotism  as  a  newer  word  to  cover  a  large  area 
as  yet  imperfectly  known,  and  which  it  would  be  premature  to  define 
exactly,  but  which  did  not  necessarily  imply  any  condition  of  sleep ; 
and  to  restrict  Somnambulism  to  a  condition  analogous  to  sleep  and  pro- 
duced by  suggestion  or  hypnotism.  Prof.  Liegeois  wished  to  give 
up  the  use  of  "  Animal  Magnetism "  in  any  accurate  discussion,  as 
being  a  term  based  on  an  old  mistake.  After  some  further  debate  a 
decided  majority  of  the  Committee  voted  against  the  use  of 
"  Hypnotism  "  and  "  Animal  Magnetism  "  as  synonymous  terms. 

A  short  discussion  on  Automatism  led  quickly  to  philosophical 
difficulties  and  was  not  pressed  to  a  division.  The  proposed  definition 
of  a  subject  under  Suggestion  was  that  he  could  not  resist  the  idea 
or  act  suggested.  Prof.  Bernheim,  with  whom  MM.  Liegeois  and 
Forel  substantially  agreed,  protested  against  the  assumption  of  a 
natural  resistance  to  suggestion  which  was  implied  in  this  definition, 
but  no  exact  alteration  in  the  form  of  words  was  agreed  upon. 

Thursday  morning,  August  8th.     M.  Ballet  in  the  chair. 

M.  Ociiorowicz  read  a  paper  on  "  La  Sensibilite*  Hypnotique." 
There  were  some  people  in  the  world,  he  said,  who  were  not  hypnotisable; 


Experimental  Psychology.  175 

hat  was  a  fact  which  was  admitted  by  all.  It  led  to  the  question, 
rhat  qualities  made  a  man  a  good  or  a  bad  subject  ?  His  aptitude 
night  be  shown  in  various  ways,  of  which  there  were  at  least  four 
rhich  might  be  clearly  distinguished,  viz. :  (i.)  the  readiness  with 
rhich  he  could  be  hypnotised ;  (ii.)  the  depth  of  sleep  which  could  be 
obtained;  (iii.)  his  greater  or  less  sensitiveness  to  suggestions,  and 
iv.)  the  delicate  variations  and  elaborate  character  of  the  symptoms. 
Hiis  aptitude  seemed  to  be  innate  and  hereditary.  Statistics  on 
this  point  were  wanted.  Was  it  to  be  called  a  disease,  a  morbid 
iiathesis,  or  simply  one  form  sui  generis  of  the  nervous  tem- 
perament? Was  there  any  connection  between  this  hypnotic 
sensibility  and  hysteria,  anaemia,  <fcc.  ?  Were  any  perfectly  healthy 
people  hypnotisable  ?  It  was  generally  admitted  that  by  being 
frequently  hypnotised  the  subjects  became  more  sensitive,  but  it 
was  not  determined  whether  there  were  other  ways  by  which  this 
might  be  brought  about,  and  whether  any  degree  of  unsusceptibility 
might  be  overcome  by  patient  and  repeated  trial.  There  were  further 
questions  as  to  the  influence  of  race,  sex,  and  social  position  on  the 
susceptibility  to  hypnotism  and  the  ready  diagnosis  of  good  subjects 
bom  external  signs.  He  showed  a  hypnoscope  which  he  had  himself 
brought  into  use.  It  consisted  of  a  short  and  broad  bar  magnet  bent 
into  a  circular  form  so  as  to  fit  one  of  the  fingers.  When  it  had  been 
worked  on  one  finger  for  a  few  minutes  it  was  often  found  that  that 
finger  was  stiff  and  to  some  extent  anaesthetic.  In  his  opinion  that 
symptom  was  co-extensive  with  susceptibility  to  hypnotism  and  might 
be  accepted  as  a  valid  test,  whether  it  was  due  to  any  magnetic 
influence  or  only  to  suggestion. 

Prof.  Charles  Richet  hoped  that  the  important  questions 
raised  would  meet  with  full  discussion,  and  remarked  that  in  his  expe- 
rience he  had  found  some  hysterical  subjects  not  hypnotisable,  and 
certainly  also  many  hypnotisable  who  were  not  hysterical. 

Prof.  Bernheim  said  he  had  found  nearly  all  persons  hypnotisable; 
but  some  hysterical  subjects  were  very  difficult  to  hypnotise  and  some 
who  were  not  hysterical  were  most  easily  hypnotised.  He  had  found 
hypnotism  possible  at  all  ages ;  it  was  on  the  whole  more  difficult  in 
the  educated  classes  than  the  uneducated,  as  there  was  more  personal 
reserve  and  self-control  in  them. 

Prof.  Charles  Richet  considered  the  French  and  Italians  as 
particularly  hypnotisable  races,  though  many  further  observations  were 
wanted  on  that  and  similar  points,  and  agreed  with  M.  Bernheim  as  to 
the  greater  susceptibility  of  the  uneducated  classes. 

Prof.  Delbceuf  had  found  about  75  per  cent,  of  almost  all  classes 
in  Belgium  hypnotisable ;  colonels  and  generals  as  well  as  the  lower 


176  International  Congress  of  [Supplement. 

Prof.  H.  Si  dg wick  said  he  should  like  to  ask  as  a  "preliminary 
question  in  this  discussion  whether  we  had  good  grounds  for  considering 
all  hypnotisers  of  equal  power  ? 

Prof.  Forel  (of  Zurich)  remarked  that  he  had  not  found  any 
difficulty,  after  a  few  weeks'  practice,  in  hypnotising  about  85  per 
cent,  of  the  Swiss  on  whom  he  tried;  and  he  understood  that 
Wetterstrand  in  Sweden  had  found  no  greater  difficulty  with  4,000 
subjects,  and  Van  Eeden  also  in  Amsterdam.  The  hypnoscopic  test 
had  not  been  found  satisfactory  in  some  Russian  experiments. 

Prof.  Charles  Richet  said  that  Prof.  Sidgwick's  question  stood 
much  in  need  of  an  answer  which  it  was  not  easy  to  furnish.  The 
magnetisers  of  a  previous  generation  had  certainly  had  a  strong 
opinion  that  the  hypnotising  power  was  much  greater  in  some  indi- 
viduals than  in  others.  In  his  own  experience  he  was  inclined  to  think 
he  had  himself  less  capacity  for  hypnotising  now  than  he  had  had 
some  20  years  ago.  It  seemed  to  him  to  be  not  a  loss  of  authority  but 
of  influence.  He  could  give  no  reason  for  it,  and  personal  power  was 
to  him  a  problem  of  the  very  greatest  complexity.  M.  Tarclianoff  had 
very  recently  exhibited  at  the  Societe*  de  Biologie  some  very  delicate 
electrical  experiments  which  went  to  show  that  a  sensitive  galvanometer 
revealed  an  alteration  in  a  man's  electric  condition  according  as  he 
thought  of  the  left  hand  or  the  right.  If  there  was  a  perceptible 
electrophysical  change  produced  in  this  way  it  was  not  impossible  that 
in  hypnotism  one  agent  might  be  perceptibly  different  from  another  in 
his  physical  influence. 

Mr.  F.  W.  H.  Myers  described  an  experiment  which  had  been 
devised  by  Mr.  Gurney  and  repeatedly  tried  upon  a  sensitive  subject 
(F.  Wells)  at  Brighton  to  test  the  difference  of  his  reaction  to  different 
individuals  without  any  opportunity  of  suggestion  by  the  ordinary  paths 
of  sense.  The  subject  was  placed  behind  a  tall  screen  so  as  to  shut 
him  oft'  entirely  from  the  experimenters  and  his  hands  passed  through 
the  screen  and  spread  out  on  a  table  in  front  of  him.  No  contact  or 
talk  was  allowed.  Over  one  finger  Mr.  Smith,  who  had  often  hypno- 
tised the  subject,  held  his  hand  at  the  distance  of  an  inch  or  more ;  the 
other  observers  held  their  hands  over  other  fingers  in  an  exactly  similar 
manner.  In  nearly  every  case  it  was  found  that  anaesthesia  and 
rigidity  were  produced  in  the  finger  over  which  was  Mr.  Smith's  hand 
and  not  in  the  others.  Great  care  had  been  taken  to  eliminate 
suggestion,  and  the  nearly  uniform  result  pointed  to  some  specific 
personal  influence. 

Prof.  Delbceuf  related  a  case  in  which  he  had  found  the  delicacy 
of  the  sense  of  touch  so  greatly  increased  in  a  hypnotised  subject  that 
she  had  been  able  to  distinguish  every  card  in  the  pack  by  touch  alone. 
He  attributed  the    results   Mr.   Myers   had   described   to  a  similar 


Experimental  Psychology.  177 

hyperacuity  of  feeling  which  had  enabled  the  subject  to  tell  one  hand 
from  another  at  a  distance. 

Mb.  Myers  observed  that  in  the  experiments  he  had  mentioned  they 
had  tested  the  subject's  hands  in  other  ways  for  hyperesthesia,  but  had 
found  none. 

M.  Gilbert  Ballet  was  nevertheless  inclined  to  attribute  the 
results  to  an  abnormally  developed  capacity  of  distinguishing  the  tem- 
peratures of  different  hands  which  were  not  in  actual  contact. 

Prof.  Bernheim  thought  that  the  electrical  changes  Prof.  Richet  had 
mentioned  would  be  explained  by  the  unconscious  muscular  contraction 
accompanying  the  thought  of  one  hand  or  the  other. 

Prof.  Richet  replied  that  muscular  contraction  would  not  be  an 
explanation  of  the  electrical  change ;  it  was  more  possible  that  it  might 
be  due  to  an  influence  of  attention  on  the  sweat  glands. 

Friday  morning,  August  9th.      Prof.  Bernheim  in  the  chair. 

After  a  short  paper  by  M.  Alliot  attempting  to  connect  the  vary- 
ing conditions  of  hypnotism  with  the  electrical  conditions  of  the  human 
body,  the  discussion  was  continued  by  M.  Ochorowicz,  who  expressed 
bis  opinion  that  the  phenomena  of  hypnotism  were  not  all  explicable 
by  suggestion  only,  for  instance,  in  the  case  of  infants  and  animals. 
He  thought  that  there  was   more  power  in  magnets  than   could    be 
explained  by  suggestion.     He  had  himself  observed  that  motions  which 
did  not  convey  any  suggestion  had  definite  effects ;  for  example,  trans- 
Terse  passes  over  the  arm  of  a  hypnotised  subject  diminished  its  strength 
whilst  longitudinal  passes  increased  it. 

Prof.  Ch.  Richet  proposed  to  classify  all  the  states  characterised 
by  an  alteration  of  personal  qualities  under  three  headings,  viz.  :  (1) 
spontaneous  conditions,  normal  and  pathological,  such  as  sleep,  som- 
nambulism, <fcc;  (2)  conditions  artificially  induced,  either  by  suggestion, 
which  had  been  shown  capable  of  producing  both  mental  and  physical 
change,  or  by  physical  influences,  such  as  those  of  magnets  or  electrical 
conditions,  which  it  was  at  present  very  difficult  to  estimate  conclu- 
sively and  to  divide  accurately  from  suggestion.     In  addition  to  these 
there  were  (3)  the  further  influences  of  action  at  a  distance,  telepathy,  and 
•     mental  suggestion,  the  proofs  of  which  were  not  by  any   means  univer- 
/     aally  regarded  as  satisfactory.  Their  science  was  at  present  embryonic, 
and  hardly  ripe  for  discussion,  though  it  needed  careful  attention. 

Prof.  Forel  thought  it  very  possible  that  the  results  of  M.  Ochoro- 
wicz's  experiments  might  have  been  obtained  by  unconscious  suggestion 
from  the  acts,  expression,  and  gestures  of  the  agent.  It  was  difficult 
to  limit  the  amount  of  meaning  that  might  be  unconsciously  hidden 
in  these  without  words.  He  was  not  at  all  wishing  to  deny  tele- 
pathy, but  he  could  not  admit  that  M.  Ochorowicz  had  proved  it. 


/ 


178  International  Congress  of  [Supplement 

Prof.  H.  Sidgwick  hoped  that  their  attention  might  be  recalled 
to  three  conditions  where  he  thought  suggestion  might  be  excluded, 
viz. :  (1)  experiments  with  animals,  (2)  with  babies,  and  (3)  at  a 
distance. 

Prof.  Bernheim  said  there  were  two  theories  on  these  points ;  the 
first  was  that  of  suggestion,   which  he  maintained  himself,  and  the 
second  that  of  the  "  fluidists  "  who  were  there  represented  by  M.  Ochoro- 
wicz,  who  maintained  some  further  action  on  the  person  than  by  the 
brain  of  the  percipient.     That  he  regarded  as  possible,  but  at  present 
unproved.     The  passes  and  staring  at  a  bright  object  brought  in  some 
points  of  suggestion  of  sleep,  by  quiet  and  by  tiring  the  eyes.     He  did 
not  wish  to  deny  the  effects  of  some  similar  actions,  but  he  interpreted 
them  by  suggestion.     In  animals  he  regarded  the  state  produced  as  one 
of  catalepsy,  and  similar  to  the  condition  of  men  occasionally  seen  in 
some  very  exhausting  diseases,  such  as  typhoid  fever.  With  some  babies 
still  at  the  breast  M.  Li£beault  had  considerable  influence  in  stopping 
pain  and  digestive  discomfort  by  laying  his  hand  on  their  stomachs,  or 
even,  he  believed,  by  bathing  them  with  magnetised  water,  or,  indeed, 
any  water.     How  soon  children  might  become  susceptible  to  some  sug- 
gestion it  was  hard  to  say ;  it  might  be  when  they  were  a  day  old,  very 
probably  before  they  were  a  month. 

M.  Gilbert  Ballet  was  surprised  by  the  use  of  the  word  sugges- 
tion for  what  the  experimenter  did  not  expect.  If  there  was  always  a 
psychical  process  to  be  called  suggestion  between  the  physical  agent 
which  brought  on  sleep,  and  the  sleep  resulting  from  it,  he  would  ask 
what  it  consisted  in  when  sleep  was  produced  by  a  sudden  loud  noise 
or  bright  light. 

Prof.  Bernheim  replied  that  in  these  cases  there  was  a  fresh 
awakening  of  previous  suggestions. 

Prof.  Pierre  Janet  cited  two  cases  where  sleep  was  so  produced 
on  a  first  trial. 

Prof.  Bernheim  was  inclined,  if  the  subjects  had  never  before 
heard  any  report  of  this  plan,  to  call  the  cases  catalepsy,  and  to 
doubt  the  truly  hypnotic  character  of  the  results. 

Prof.  Charles  Riciiet  had  been  much  interested  in  the  discus- 
sion of  the  limits  of  suggestion.  If  the  use  of  the  word  was  confined 
to  its  ordinary  moaning  he  thought  that  important  as  its  agency  might 
be  in  the  results  of  hypnotism  it  certainly  was  not  the  sole  cause. 

Prof.  Danilewsky  (of  Kharkoff)  then  went  on  to  read  his  paper  on 
the  study  of  Hypnotism  in  Aninmls.  He  had  obtained  hypnotic  results 
in  a  long  list  of  animals,  going  upwards  from  the  shrimp,  the  crab,  the 
lobster,  the  sepia,  to  several  fishes  (among  them  the  cod,  the  brill,  the 
torpedo-fish),  the  tadpole,  the  frog,  the  lizard,  the  crocodile,  the  serpen^ 
the  tortoise,  several  birds,  the  guinea  pig,  and  the  rabbit.     He  had 


Supplement]  Experimental  Psychology.  179 

generally  found  it  sufficient  to  place  the  animal  in  some  abnormal 
position,  e.g.,  on  its  back,  and  keep  it  quiet  with  slight  continuous 
pressure.  Under  these  conditions  it  soon  fell  into  a  condition  of  loss 
of  voluntary  movement,  and  anaesthesia  of  the  skin  and  mucous  mem- 
branes, so  that,  for  example,  after  a  time  the  artificial  stoppage  of  its 
means  of  respiration  did  not  excite  any  appropriate  resistance,  and  the 
appearance  at  the  same  time  of  some  spasms  and  convulsive  movements 
gave  the  action  the  character  of  an  emotional  struggle.  Repeated 
hypnotisation  lessened  the  resistance  of  the  animals,  so  that  they 
became  more  and  more  susceptible.  In  some  of  the  animals  and  birds 
if  injury  was  done  to  the  semi-circular  canals  in  the  ear  so  that  in- 
voluntary circular  motion  naturally  followed,  it  was  found  possible  to 
stop  this  so  long  as  they  were  hypnotised.  When  the  animal  woke  from 
hypnotism  and  changed  its  position  the  circular  motion  began 
again.  There  were  two  conditions  which  it  was  necessary  to 
distinguish:  (1)  Catalepsy,  which  was  a  condition  of  arrest  of  volun- 
tary movements  and  of  anaesthesia,  and  was  generally  brought 
on  by  strong  and  painful  external  stimulus ;  and  (2)  Hypnotism,  which 
was  induced  without  violent  stimulus.  The  anaesthesia  of  hypnotism 
and  the  emotions  of  hypnotism  were  the  result  of  the  inhibitory  power 
of  the  brain  ;  and  if  the  brain  was  taken  away  these  results  disappeared 
also.  External  constraint  provoked  in  an  animal  a  feeling  of  inability  to 
defend  itself  and  a  paralysis  of  the  will  followed.  That  was  the  first 
condition  for  inducing  the  phenomena  of  hypnotism  in  animals  and 
men.  Animals  got  their  feeling  of  irresistible  coercion  from  their  skin 
and  their  bodily  cases ;  men  from  psychical  causes.  Verbal  suggestion 
to  a  man  was  analogous  to  bodily  suggestion  to  an  animal  from  the 
hands  of  a  hypnotiser. 

Saturday  Morning.     August  10th.     Prop.  Espinas  in  the  chair. 

M.  Babinski  was  called  upon  by  the  Chairman  to  explain  the  views 
of  the  school  of  the  SalpetrLfere  upon  hypnotism,  and  began  by  remark- 
ing that  these  views  had  been  recently  put  into  print l  and  supplied 
some  answers  to  the  objections  raised  by  the  school  of  Nancy.  M. 
Charcot  had  studied  hypnotism  in  hystero-epileptic  patients  alone, 
because  he  found  in  them  good  types  for  study.  He  did  not  deny  that 
hypnotism  might  be  observed  in  other  patients,  and  that  the  pheno- 
mena observable  in  the  hystero-epileptics  might  not  be  observable  in 
all  others.  Suggestion  was  admitted  by  the  Parisian  observers  to 
be  important,  but  not  to  be  the  only  source  of  the  hypnotic  phenomena. 
If  a  patient  who  was  unacquainted  with  medical  facts  and  entirely 
ignorant  of  hypnotism  showed  when  hypnotised  the  contractures  which 

1  Grand  et  Petit  Hypnotisms    Archives  de  Neurologie.    1888,  *Sc*.  4&-3A. 


180  International  Congress  of  [Sappiament. 

belonged  to  the  lethargic  state,  although  the  hypnotiser  had  given  him 
no  hint  whatever  by  word  or  gesture,  it  could  not  be  said  that  sugges- 
tion was  the  cause.  Why  should  the  characteristic  muscular  state  be 
contracture  rather  than  paralysis,  tremor,  or  any  other  symptom  ?  And 
after  M.Bernheim  had  produced  hypnotic  sleep  as  he  said  by  suggestion 
why  did  he  find  anaesthesia  which  he  had  not  suggested  ?  Why  did 
pressure  produce  contracture  in  the  lethargic  state  and  not  in  the 
cataleptic  ?  It  had  been  objected  that  the  three  consecutive  states 
which  M.  Charcot  had  described, — the  lethargic,  the  cataleptic,  and  the 
somnambulic, — were  themselves  the  result  of  suggestion.  But  even  if 
that  were  possible  it  would  not  explain  their  occurrence  in  the  first  cases 
where  they  were  observed.  It  was  said  that  they  had  only  been  found 
at  the  Salpetriere,  but  some  similar  observations  had  been  made  by 
Tamburini,  Seppilli,  Vizioli,  David,  and  Ladame.  Hypnotism  he  re- 
garded as  a  pathological  and  not  a  physiological  state,  and  in  character 
allied  to  hysteria,  for  (1)  they  had  certain  symptoms  in  common,  (2)  the 
stages  of  hypnotism  were  like  the  stages  of  the  hysterical  attack,  and 
(3)  there  was  an  interdependence  between  hypnotism  and  hysteria  such 
as  was  seen  with  some  other  conditions  intimately  related.  The  results 
of  M.  Charcot's  experiments  on  hysterical  patients  which  had  been 
published  in  1882  had  not  lost  any  of  their  truth  or  value. 

Pkof.  Lombroso  (of  Turin)  had  tried  hypnotism  on  seventy  persons 
in  Bologna.  He  had  produced  a  truly  hypnotic  state  in  only  a  few 
persons,  in  all  of  whom  there  was  some  morbid  nervous  condition, 
but  had  noticed  what  he  should  prefer  to  call  credulity  in  many  of 
the  lower  classes. 

Prof.  Espinas  (of  Bordeaux)  had  observed  that  whilst  suggestion 
was  used  without  restriction  at  Nancy,  nevertheless,  at  the  Salpetriere 
it  was  said  to  be  very  rarely  tried,  for  fear  of  causing  an  attack  of 
hvsteria.     Was  that  fear  well  founded  ? 

Prof.  Forel  considered  it  possible  to  make  some  patients  hysterical 
by  hypnotism,  but  that  was  only  when  very  wide  limits  were  allowed 
to  that  vague  word  "  hysteria,"  and  when  hypnotism  was  used  for  a 
long  time  with  the  special  attempt  of  producing  it.  There  could  be  no 
doubt  that  when  hypnotism  was  fairly  used  on  a  large  number  of  people 
it-  was  found  that  it  was  not  confined  to,  or,  indeed,  much  helped  by 
hysterical  temperaments. 

M.  Babixski  admitted  that  he  had  not  had  the  opportunity  of 
studying  the  effects  of  hypnotism  widely  on  non-hysterical  persons. 

Prof.  Pikrrk  Janet  (of  Le  Havre)  did  not  think  that  to  be 
hypnotisable  was  in  the  least  a  proof  of  being  hysterical.  It  was 
rather  a  sign  of  mental  and  moral  weakness,  of  an  incapacity  of  fixed 
attention  ;  and  from  such  incapacity,  which  he  considered  a  definite 
disease  (maladie)   arose  the  anaesthesia  which  was  to  be  found  both 


supplement]  E.vperimental  Psychology.  181 

in  hysteria  and  hypnotism.     In  his  own  trials  of  hypnotism  he  had 
succeeded  in  about  80  per  cent. 

Prop.  Forel  had  himself  succeeded  in  about  60  or  70  per  cent. 
of  cases  when  he  began  to  practise  hypnotism,  and  in  a  large  number  of 
people  who  had  no  such  disease  as  Prof.  Janet  described,  but  were  per- 
fectly healthy.  After  more  practice  he  had  succeeded  in  as  many  as 
90  per  cent.,  and  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  fatigue  was  a  con- 
dition which  rendered  the  subjects  more  susceptible.  With  the  insane 
he  had  found  hypnotism  extremely  difficult. 

"Prof.  Charles  Richet  protested  against  the  word  "disease"  which 
Prof.  Janet  had  made  use  of  for  conditions  which,  even  supposing  they 
were  not  the  most  absolutely  normal,  would  certainly  not  be  included  in 
what  a  doctor  would  understand  by  disease.  And  for  his  own  part  he 
thought  some  hypnotisable  people  were  absolutely  normal. 

Prof.  Delbceuf  quite  agreed  with  Prof.  Richet  on  this  point.  To 
be  hypnotisable  depended  on  attention,  not  on  disease.  He  had  found 
himself  able  to  arrest  salivation  by  self-suggestion  when  under  the 
hands  of  a  dentist ;  and  one  of  the  necessary  conditions  in  his  own 
case  was  the  capacity  of  concentrating  his  attention,  not  that  in- 
capacity of  fixed  attention  that  Prof.  Janet  had  spoken  of.  As  to 
the  SalpStriere  phenomena,  he  observed  that  after  he  had  himself  first 
visited  the  Salpetriere  he  found  that  his  own  subjects  manifested 
those  phenomena.  But  when  he  had  learnt  from  the  writings  of  the 
Nancy  school  that  these  contractures,  <fec.,  did  not  necessarily  occur, 
they  ceased  to  occur  in  his  own  subjects. 

M.  Ochorowicz  said  his  experience  during  about  twenty  years  for 
which  he  had  practised  hypnotism  had  shown  him  that  the  insane  were 
the  most  difficult  of  all  subjects.  The  susceptibility  to  hypnotism  he 
had  found  persistent  through  middle  and  elder  life,  a  point  in  which  it 
differed  markedly  from  hysteria. 

Saturday  afternoon,  August  10th.       Prof.  Delbceuf  in  the  chair. 

Mr.  F.  W.  H.  Myers  described  some  experiments  which  he  and 
other  members  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research  had  made  to 
test  the  possibilities  of  thought-transference  when  the  recognised 
means  of  communication  through  the  senses  were  cut  off.  The  subject 
was  a  healthy  person  who  was  hypnotised  and  between  whom  and  the 
experimenter  a  screen  was  in  many  cases  placed.  The  experimenter 
then  drew  a  counter  on  which  was  written  a  number  of  two  figures 
from  a  large  collection  of  these  in  a  bag,  and  observing  very  strict 
conditions  in  detail,  he  fixed  his  attention  on  it,  asking  the  subject 
to  let  him  know  if  by  any  means  he  became  acquainted  with  it. 
The  answer  was  not  correct  in  every  case,  but  the  total  number  of 
correct  answers  in  a  very   long   series  of  experiments  was  so  vastly 


182  International  Congress. 

greater  than  would  have  been  the  result  of  chance,  which  under  these 
conditions  could  be  mathematically  calculated,  that  he  could  not  doubt 
that  there  was  some  other  agency  at  work,  which  was  neither  fraud  nor 
chance  but  thought-transference. 

Pbof.  Charles  Richbt  knew  well  the  experiments  described  by  Mr- 
Myers,  and  had  himself  made  some  others  which  led  to  a  similar  result. 
8uch  experiments,  he  thought,  should  be  repeated  widely  and  with  the 
greatest  care,  for  if  the  proof  of  thought-transference  to  which  they 
led  could  be  established,  without  a  doubt  it  would  be  one  of  the 
greatest  discoveries  of  our  time. 

Pbof.  Sidgwick  remarked  that  results  of  a  similar  character  had 
been  obtained  with  subjects  in  a  normal  condition  as  well  as  in 
hypnotism.  At  the  same  time  the  experiments  of  himself  and  his 
colleagues  seemed  to  show  that  success  was  rather  more  likely  to  be 
obtained  in  the  hypnotic  than  in  the  normal  state.  He  entirely  agreed 
in  the  view  that  more  experiments  were  urgently  required. 

Pbof.  Delbcbuf  had  paid  some  attention  to  these  phenomena,  but  had 
not  been  able  to  satisfy  himself  of  any  similar  results  in  experiments 
of  his  own.  He  had  been  struck  with  a  remarkable  power  in  those 
who  had  been  deeply  hypnotised  of  making  an  exact  estimate  of  time, 
and  had  noticed  many  post-hypnotic  suggestions  carried  out  exactly  to 
the  minute  after  an  interval  of  several  hours. 

After  some  discussion  as  to  the  date  and  place  of  the  next  meeting, 
it  was  unanimously  agreed  that  the  next  reunion  of  the  Congress 
should  be  held  in  England  early  in  August,  1892. 

It  is  hoped  that  a  Committee  of  Reception  may  be  formed  in  Eng- 
land before  that  date ;  but  in  the  meantime  a  Committee  of  Organisa- 
tion was  appointed,  which  is  to  meet  about  Christmas,  1891,  and 
consider  the  subjects  to  be  proposed  for  discussion  at  the  Congress.  It 
is  hoped  that  a  programme  of  these  subjects  may  be  printed  in  Eng- 
lish, French,  and  German,  some  months  before  the  Congress  actually 
re-assembles. 


1      Report  on  the  Census  of  Hallucinations. 


183 


IL 


AD    INTERIM     REPORT    ON    THE    CENSUS    OF 

HALLUCINATIONS, 

Up  to  October  4#ft,  1889. 


In  England  the  whole  number  of  answers  received  is  : 


"No." 

"Yea," 

Total* 

From  men   

1181 

1382 

2 

112 
251 

1293 

1633 

2 

From  women  

Unstated 

Total 

2565 

363 

2928 

Percentage  of  "Yeses,"  12*4. 

Of  the  persons  answering  "  Tes  "  64  have  as  yet  sent  no  particulars. 
113   persons   have  had  more  than  one  experience,   either  the  same 
repeated  more  than  once,  or  different  experiences. 

The  experiences  recorded  may  be  classified  as  follows  : 

A. — Experiences  Affecting  More  Than  One  Sense. 


• 

Coinci- 
dental. 

Non-Coincidental. 

Represent- 
ing a  Living 
Person. 

Represent- 
ing a  Dead 
Person. 

Unrecog- 
nised. 

Totals. 

Yuma]  and  AnrlitorV    

4 
1 
1 

1 
1 
1 

7 
2 

1 

4 
3 
1 
1 

16 

Visual  and  Tactile   

7 

Anditorv  and  Tactile  

3 

* 

Vi»nal,  Auditory,  and  Tactile 

2 

Total  number  of  Cases... 

6 

3 

10 

9 

28 

»}« 


184 


184  Ad  Interim  Report  on  the 

B. — Experiences  Affecting  One  Sense  Only. 

I.— Visual. 

1.  Coincidental — 

€£•     XvwvO«TIj11£H>U.  •••  •••  •••  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  ••• 

b.  Unrecognised 

2.  Non-coincidental — 

a.  Human  apparitions : 

a.  Of  living  people  

j3.  Of  dead  people  ...        ...        ... 

y.  Unrecognised ... 

d.  Of  an  arm  or  hand  ... 

b.  Non-human  apparitions : 

a.  Of  animals      ...        ...        ...        ...        ...        ...  7\  <>» 

ft.  Of  inanimate  objects  18/ 

A  OVckl.  •••  •••  ■••  •••  •••  •••      4&J%9 

24  of  these  are  said  to  have  been  collective  experiences  ;  viz.,  2  coinci- 
dental cases  (1  recognised  and  1  unrecognised)  4  apparitions  of  the  living,  2 
of  the  dead,  16  of  unrecognised  human  beings,  and  1  of  an  inanimate  object. 

In  the  above  table  30  cases  in  which  the  percipient  had  more  than  one 
experience,  but  did  not  describe  them  singly,  are  counted  each  as  one  case. 

II.— Auditory  (Voices). 

1.  Coincidental — 

a.  Recognised    ...        ...        ...        ...        ...        ...        ..  ^\fi2 

b.  Unrecognised  ...        ...        ...        ...  ...  *>J 

2.  Non-coincidental — 

a.  Trivial  and  often  repeated  experiences,  generally  of  thel 

name   being  called,  sometimes  recognised   and  some-}-  43' 
times  not        ...        ...        ...        ...        ...        ...        •  •  •  J 

6.  Recognised.     Of  Living  Persons  : 

a.  Calls  or  voices  

/3.  Name  called  on  two  occasions       

y.  Short  conversation    ... 

o.  dentences        ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ... 

€.  Familiar  words  and  phrases  

I*        K^xJIJIflt  «••  •••  •■■  •»■  ••■  •  •  •  »  • 

c    Recognised.     Of  Dead  persons  : 

a.  Calls  or  voices  ...        ...        ...        ...        ...  7 

/3.  Calls  twice  repeated 1^    9 

y.  Sentence         ...        ...         ...        ...        ...         ...  1 

d.  Unrecognised : 

a.  Calls  or  voices  

/3.  Calls  twice  repeated 

y.   Sentences 
8.   Counting 

€.    Crooning  a  tune       

(.   Music  and  faint  voices        

j. o Lai        ...         ...         ...         <•  ...         . . .    i iv 

6  of  these  are  said  to  have  been  collective  experiences  ;  viz.,  2  coincidental 
cases  of  the  name  being  called  (the  voice  being  recognised  in  one  case  and 
not  in  the  other),  2  recognised  living  cases  (1  call  and  1  song),  1  trivial 
experience  and  1  unrecognised  case  (crooning  a  tune). 


15 


} 


93 


svppteoMnt]  Census  of  HalltLcinations.  185 

III. —Tactile 


1.  Coincidental — 

a.  Recognised 

b.  Unrecognised ... 

2.  Non-coincidental — 

a.  Recognised  touch  of  Living  person : 

a.  Single  touch       ...        

0.  Recurring  touches        

b.  Recognised  touch  of  Dead  person  : 

a.  Single  touch       

0.  Recurring  touches        

r.  Unrecognised : 

a.  Frequent  touches         

0.  Touch,  &c,  once  


» 


in 


22 


:::  i?}17 


X  O  will  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  mrX 

One  case  of  a  single  unrecognised  touch  is  said  to  have  been  collective, 
one  percipient  seeing  a  form  while  the  other  felt  a  touch. 

In  this  analysis  no  account  is  taken  of  morbid  conditions  which  undoubtedly 
existed  in  some  cases,  being  indeed  explicitly  mentioned  occasionally.  But 
the  great  majority  of  the  percipients  were,  according  to  their  own  statements, 
in  a  perfectly  normal  and  healthy  condition  at  the  time  of  their  experiences. 

Also  no  attempt  has  been  made  as  yet  to  make  more  than  a  rough  estimate 
of  the  possibilities  of  error  in  the  accounts  through  defects  of  memory  of 
mistakes  of  inference.  In  particular,  the  probability  of  the  figure  seen 
being  a  real  human  being,  or  the  sound  heard  a  real  human  voice,  in  some  of 
the  collective  cases  requires  to  be  carefully  examined. 

As  regards  other  countries  than  England,  we  heard  in  August  that  about 

2.000  answers  had  already  been  collected  in  America,  and  Mons.  Marillier 

reports  in  October  that  he  had  received  633  answers  from  France  and 

Switzerland  as  follows : 

"  No.M  "  Yea."  TotaL 

From  men 366     57     423 

From  women        161     49    210 


Total       527  106  633 

He  had  received  as  yet  no  particulars  from  about  50  of  the  persons 
answering  yes.  Among  the  remainder,  24  of  the  experiences  are  said  to 
have  been  veridical. 

The  enquiry  has  also  been  commenced  in  Germany,  but  not  yet  in  Russia 
nor  in  Italy. 

I  may  remind  my  readers  that  a  report  on  the  census  is  to  be  made  to  the 

International  Congress  of  Experimental  Psychology  in  1892,   and   that  we 

should  like  by  that  time  to  have  50,000  answers.     Further  assistance  in 

collecting  is  urgently  needed,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  correspond  with  any 

one  willing  to  help  in  the  work. 

Henry  Sidgwick. 


186  Professor  Pierre  Janet's  [SappkiMBt. 


III. 

PROFESSOR  PIERRE  JANET'S   "AUTOMATISME 

PSYCHOLOGIQUE."1 
By  Frederic  W.  H.  Myers. 


The  name  of  Professor  Pierre  Janet  has  long  been  familiar  to  the  readers 
of  these  Proceedings.  We  have  been  amongst  the  first  and  warmest 
appreciators  of  the  remarkable  articles  in  the  Reims  Philosophiquc  in  which 
he  has  for  several  years  past  recounted  the  results  of  a  series  of  experiments 
on  human  automatism,  &c.,  seldom  surpassed  for  care  in  observation  and 
acumen  in  interpretation.  We  shall,  therefore,  be  prepared  to  join  cordially 
in  the  welcome  which  French  savants  are  now  extending  to  M.  Janet's 
ihhe  presentee  a  la  Facvltdde  lettres  a  Paris  under  the  title  of  IS  Automatism* 
Psychologique,  "an  essay  in  experimental  psychology  upon  the  inferior  forms 
of  human  activity."  This  book  contains  the  gist  of  the  above-mentioned 
articles,  and  much  more  besides  ;  and  we  consider  that  it  at  once  places 
M.  Janet  in  a  front  rank  of  experimental  psychologists.  It  ought,  we 
think,  to  be  translated  into  English  and  other  languages,  and  studied  by  all 
who  are  interested  in  researches  of  this  kind. 

But  when  a  book  is  so  full  of  new  observations  and  reflections  as  this 
book  is, — and  observations  in  so  difficult  a  domain, — it  is  not  by  mere  general 
expressions  of  praise  that  we  shall  show  it  the  truest  respect.  Its  greatest 
merit  is  that  it  opens  new  paths  ;  and  in  a  new  path  we  may  walk  side  by 
side  like  explorers  rather  than  follow  in  a  leader's  steps  like  sheep.  Much 
of  the  book  is  occupied  with  criticism, — reasonable  and  effective  criticism, — 
on  views  which  have  been  set  forth  in  these  Proceedings ;  and  much  of  our 
limited  space  must  be  given  to  an  answer  to  those  criticisms, — such  answer 
as  we  make  to  an  opponent  whom  we  desire  not  to  confute  but  to  persuade. 

The  work  begins  in  a  manner  unusual  in  psychological  treatises,  but,  in 
our  view,  strictly  logical.  "  Total  automatism  "  is  the  title  of  the  first  part, 
and  "Isolated  psychological  phenomena"  of  the  first  chapter.  What  is 
implied  in  these  titles  is  the  new,  the  experimental  method  of  getting  at  the 
simplest  beginnings  of  human  consciousness  and  intelligence.  No  merely 
imaginary  or  metaphorical  simplicity,  such  as  Condillac's  " breathing  statue," 
can  be  a  really  simple  notion,  or  afford  a  true  basis  on  which  to  upbuild  our 
conceptions  of  gradually  developing  personality. 

Dr.  Hughlings-Jackson  (with  whose  works,  little  known  in  France, 
M.  Janet  does  not  seem  to  be  acquainted)  has  taken  coma  as  representing  a 
"lowest  level  of  evolution,"  and  has  traced  the  operation  of  nerve-centres 
at  different  levels  as  they  come  into  prominence  at  successive  stages  of  the 
dissolnti-ve  process  of  an  epileptic  explosion.  What  we  want  to  produce 
and  watch,  however,  is  of  course  not  the  catastrophe,  but  the  evolution 
of  the  psychical  cosmos ; — not  the  breaking  down  of  one  set  of  reservoirs 

1  IS  Automativme  Psychologiquc,  par  Pierre  Janet.  (Paris:  Alcan,  1889,  pp.  496). 


"Avtomatisme  Paychologique*1  187 

of  nerve-force  after  another,  but  the  gradual  calling  into  operation  of  higher 
and  higher  connections.  And  M.  Janet  is  right,  I  think,  in  taking  the 
condition  of  hypnotic  catalepsy  as  the  lowest  starting-point  which  can  be 
safely  reproduced  in  practice.  Judging  both  from  external  indications  and 
from  that  memory  of  cataleptic  attitudes  which  sometimes  persists  into  a 
somnambulic  state,  the  cataleptic  subject  is  in  that  condition  of  impersonal 
consciousness  which  we  must  suppose  to  exist  in  the  animal  and  in  the 
infant,  and  which  is  occasionally  experienced  and  even  remembered  by  the 
adult,  on  his  recovery  from  amBsthetisation  by  drugs,  or  from  a  profound 
fainting-fit.  Professor  Herzen's  description  of  this  latter  experience  deserves 
quoting  here,  for  it  gives  us  probably  a  more  vivid  notion  of  "  total  automa- 
tism "  than  any  mere  observation  from  outside  could  afford. 

44  During  the  faint,"  he  says,  "  it  is  absolute  psychical  nonentity,  com- 
plete absence  of  consciousness  ;  then  one  begins  to  have  a  vague,  unlimited, 
infinite  feeling, — a  feeling  of  existence  in  general  without  any  delimitation  of 
one's  own  individuality,  without  the  least  trace  of  a  distinction  between  the 
I  and  the  not-I  ;  one  is  then  an  organic  portion  of  nature,  having  conscious- 
ness of  the  fact  of  one's  existence,  but  no  consciousness  of  the  fact  of  one's 
organic  unity  ;  one  has,  in  two  words,  an  impersonal  consciousness  : — 
sensations  which,  from  the  mere  fact  that  they  remain  isolated  cannot  be 
known,  but  only  felt." 

By  hypnotic  catalepsy  is  here  meant  a  state  in  which  there  is  no  initiative 
of  movement,  but  in  which  an  attitude  or  a  movement  can  be  impressed  from 
without  upon  the  subject, — who  will  inevitably  retain  the  attitude,  or  repeat 
and  complete  the  movement.  Imagining  this  state  from  within,  and  from  a 
psychological  standpoint, — a  task  which  M.  Janet  has  faced  more  boldly  than 
any  predecessor, — we  reach  the  following  conclusions  (p.  66)  :  4<  Many 
sensations  and  images  are  accompanied  by  a  bodily  movement  and  cannot 
exist  without  producing  it  ;  every  sensation  or  image  persists  in  the  con- 
sciousness until  another  phenomenon  occurs  to  efface  it  ;  every  sensation  or 
emotion  tends  to  develop  and  complete  itself,  and  to  manifest  itself  by 
appropriate  acts." 

In  the  cataleptic  subject  we  witness  the  play  of  these  isolated  sensations 
and  images, not  yet  collected  and  correlated  under  the  conception  of  a  central 
personality. 

Here,  then,  we  have  a  starting-point  ;  what  are  the  next  stages  on  the 
upward  road  ?  From  the  cataleptic  state  (it  would  be  usually  said)  we  rise 
to  the  somnambulic,  and  from  the  somnambulic  to  the  waking  condition. 
But  note  that  our  conception  of  the  somnambulic  state, — what  used  to  be 
*  called  44  the  mesmeric  trance," — is  gradually  undergoing  development,  as 
more  prolonged  experiments  are  made.  When  this  state  was  only  maintained 
(as  by  the  earliest  mesmerisers)  for  a  few  minutes  or  hours,  attention  was 
naturally  directed  to  its  first  or  superficial  aspects, — the  habitual  anaesthesia, — 
the  rapport  with  the  mesmeriser  only, — the  readiness  to  receive  suggestions, — 
and,  of  course,  the  alternation  of  memory,  and  forgetfulness  on  waking. 
Further  experience  has  shown  that  the  phenomena  of  anaesthesia  and  of 
rapport  are  by  no  means  uniform,  and  that  suggestibility  is  by  no  means 
confined  to  the  somnambulic  state,  but  often  exists  in  waking  subjects.  We 
are,  in  fact,  obliged  to  admit  that  there  is  no  one  phenomenon  which  invariably 


188  Professor  Pierre  Janet9 s  [Snppkment 

characterises  the  somnambulic  state  ;  and  that  all  we  can  say  is  that  the 
subject  is  not  quite  the  same  as  in  the  waking  state,  and  that  there  is 
generally  a  more  or  less  complete  forgetfulness  in  the  waking  state  of  what 
has  passed  in  the  "  trance." 

Tli ere  is,  I  think,  a  wider  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  these  facts  than  M. 
Janet  has  attempted.  But  before  indicating  that  conclusion  I  must  note  the 
extremely  ingenious  observation  which  our  author  has  made  as  regards  one  at 
least  of  the  conditions  accompanying  and  determining  these  somnambulic 
changes  of  personality.  M.  Janet's  experiments  were  made  on  27  persons, 
all  of  them  hysterical,  epileptic,  or  insane  ;  and  although  this  limitation  of 
his  experience  to  diseased  subjects  has,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  in  some 
ways  much  cramped  his  conceptions,  it  has  also  had  the  advantage  of 
concentrating  his  attention  upon  certain  marked  and  extreme  phenomena, 
which  previous  observers  had  usually  witnessed  only  in  a  fleeting  or  accidental 
way.  He  noticed,  then,  in  one  of  his  subjects  that  there  had  been  various 
lacuna  in  her  memory  before  she  had  ever  been  hypnotised,  and  that  he 
could  not  summon  back  the  recollection  of  these  periods  even  in  her 
somnambulic  state.  But  this  was  a  subject  who  passed  through  many  forms 
of  somnambulism  ;  and  in  a  new  phase  which  she  one  day  entered  she 
spontaneously  gave  an  account  of  what  had  happened  in  those  blank  periods. 

M.  Janet  naturally  tried  to  discover  whether  this  new  somnambulism 
possessed  any  special  characteristic  linking  it  with  those  previously  un- 
remembered  periods  in  Rose's  i>ast.  He  found  that, — whereas  in  ordinary 
life  and  in  all  previous  somnambulisms  she  was  wholly  anesthetic, — yet  both 
in  this  new  somnambulism  and  in  those  blank  periods  of  life  she  was  only 
hemi-amesthetic, — having  recovered  tactile  and  muscular  sensibility  on  the 
right  side.  Other  observations  followed, — some  of  them  of  a  very  delicate 
and  ingenious  kind, — and  M.  Janet  came  to  the  conclusion  (p.  109)  "  that  the 
alternating  memory  of  somnambules  is  due  to  a  periodical  modification, 
whether  spontaneous  or  induced,  in  the  state  of  their  sensibility,  and, 
consequently,  in  the  nature  of  the  images  which  serve  as  the  basis  for 
complex  psychological  phenomena,  and  esi>ecially  for  language.  This 
modification  finds  place  particularly  in  subjects  more  or  less  aniesthetic  in 
their  normal  state,  and  then  consists  in  the  temporary  restoration  of  a  certain 
category  of  images  of  which  the  subjects  in  their  ordinary  state  have  lost 
possession. "  Thus — adopting  the  distinctions  with  which  Mr.  Galton 
has  made  us  familiar, — Leonie  is  a  insital  in  her  waking  state,  an  audiU  in 
her  second  state  (Le\>ntine,  now  termed  Leonie  II.),  and  a  motile  in  her 
third  state  (Leonore,  now  termed  Ldonie  III.).  Each  set  of  images  forms  a 
chain  of  memory  of  its  own,  and  the  transition  from  the  predominant  use 
of  one  set  of  images  to  the  predominant  use  of  another  necessarily  involves 
a  certain  change  of  personality. 

These  remarks  appear  to  me  to  suggest  an  important  field  of  observation. 
They  do  not,  indeed,  cover  the  whole  ground  ;  for  there  are  abundant  cases 
of  alternating  memory  where  the  subject  presents  no  appreciable  change  in 
mental  habits  of  the  kind  here  insisted  on.  And  I  may  add  that  M.  Janet's 
observations, — in  which  states  of  hemi-aniesthesia  play  no  small  part, — seem 
to  me  to  add  confirmation  to  my  own  view  (Proceedings,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  43  and 
99)  that  alterations  in  the  predominance  of  one  or  other  cerebral  hemisphere 


suppfcuMmt]  "Automatisme  Psychologique"  189 

have  something  to  do  with  these  changes  of  personality,  of  which  automatic 
writing  is  now  recognised  as  one  of  the  most  instructive  manifestations.  I 
can  scarcely  understand  why  M.  Janet  disapproves  of  this  view  (p.  415), 
which  seems  to  me  entirely  consistent  with  his  own,  and  which  was  in  fact 
based  in  part  upon  the  very  same  observations.  M.  Janet  refers  to  Louis 
Vive\  with  his  changes  of  character  coinciding  with  the  shifting  or  disappear- 
ance of  hysterical  paralyses.  1  also  referred  to  that  case  ;  and  surely  when 
hemi-ansesthesia  and  hemiplegia  are  amongst  the  most  marked  of  the 
phenomena  with  which  we  are  dealing,  there  is  nothing  fanciful  in  assuming 
that  there  are  coincidental  changes  in  the  equilibrium  of  the  cerebral  hemi- 
spheres. The  suggestion— which  I  owe  to  Dr.  Ireland — that  Spiegelschrift 
may  represent  the  word-vision  of  the  right  hemisphere,  still  seems  to  me 
ingenious  and  probable ;  and  although  M.  Janet  has  never  witnessed 
Spiegelschrift  among  what  he  calls  linn  assez  grand  nombre  de  sujets,"  1  must 
venture  to  say  that  his  score  or  so  of  writing  subjects  (for  not  all  his  27 
subjects  wrote)  is  not  for  present  purposes  a  sufficient  number  ;  and  that  1, 
who  have  seen  more  writing  subjects  than  M.  Janet  has — (though  1  am  far 
from  asserting  that  I  have  observed  them  with  care  or  skill  to  equal  his) — 
have  witnessed  this  Spiegelschrift  in  a  good  many  independent  cases. 
Unfortunately  1  cannot  say  in  how  many  ;  for  while  the  inquiry  was  a  mere 
curiosity  of  my  own,  I  regarded  the  incident  as  too  common  to  need  record  ; 
and  now  that  the  matter  has  become  one  of  controversial  interest,  1  am 
afraid  of  suggesting  my  own  view  to  any  automatist  with  whom  1  am 
concerned. 

On  one  point  M.  Janet  (who  is  very  careful  and  accurate  in  his  citations 
from  our  Proceedings  and  other  English  sources)  seems  to  base  an  objection 
on  a  misconception  (p.  415)  of  the  phenomenon  which  I  am  describing.  I 
draw  a  parallel  between  the  sufferer  from  verbal  cecity  and  the  writing 
automatist  who  does  not  know  what  he  has  written,  and  who  writes  therefore 
without  the  aid  of  the  " word-picturing  centres"  of  his  left  hemisphere. 
Bf.  Janet  supposes  that  my  automatist  is  partially  anaesthetic — "  le  medium 
n'a  pas  la  sensation  des  mouvements."  But  he  is  not  in  any  degree  anaesthetic 
in  the  cases  to  which  I  am  alluding :  he  has  the  full  sensation  of  the 
movements,  and  he  can  sometimes  guess  by  the  movements  what  word  he  is 
writing,  although  he  has  no  mental  vision  of  that  word  in  his  conscious 
intelligence.  My  parallel  is  therefore  a  closer  one  than  M.  Janet  has 
supposed. 

I  should  have  some  other  rejoinders  to  make  to  the  criticisms  on 
pp.  415-9.  But  the  discussion  may  well  be  left  until  there  are  a  good  many 
more  observations  to  analyse.  Automatic  writing  occurs,  it  is  evident,  under 
more  forms  than  any  single  observer  has  yet  noted  ;  and  the  urgent  matter  is 
to  get  experiments  carefully  made  and  recorded  in  milieux  as  different  from 
each  other  as  can  be  contrived.  Let  us  not  lose  the  true  independence  of 
each  experiment  by  falling  prematurely  under  the  power  of  suggestion  of  any 
one  theory.1 

1  It  is  to  me  a  real  disappointment,  and  I  think  that  it  is  a  real  drawback  to  the 
attainment  of  a  complete  view  of  the  subject,  that  there  should  apparently  be  almost 
no  producible  experiments  now  made  by  those  who  believe  that  these  automatic  writings 
sometimes  emanate  from  disembodied  (or  unembodied)  minds.    That  there  should  be 


190  Professor  Piei^re  Janet's  [Supplement. 

I  now  return  to  a  statement  of  M.  Janet's,  already  cited  ;  from  which,  as 
I  have  said,  it  seems  to  me  that  conclusions  much  wider  than  his  own  may 
fairly  be  drawn.  He  says, — and  I  fully  concur, — that  there  is  no  specific 
character  which  belongs  to  the  "somnambulic  state"  in  itself.  "The 
somnambulic  state,"  he  remarks,  p.  125,  "has  only  relative  characters  ;  and 
can  be  determined  only  in  reference  to  another  period  of  the  subject's 
existence, — the  normal  or  waking  state.  .  .  .  Somnambulism  is  a  second 
existence  which  lias  no  other  character  except  that  it  i*  the  second." 

Taken  by  themselves,  and  detached  from  their  modifying  context,  these 
very  words  might  be  used  to  express  what  I  believe  to  be  a  profound  truth, — 
which  a  great  part  of  M.  Janet's  book  is  employed  in  combating. 

I  believe,  in  short,  that  we  have  no  right  to  go  a  whit  beyond  actual 
observed  facts  in  any  judgment  which  we  may  pass  as  to  the  relative 
superiority  or  " normality"  of  any  of  man's  different  states.  I  refuse  to  call 
my  actual  waking  state  "normal "  or  "natural "  in  any  sense  except  that  of 
habitual  or  ordinary.  It  has  been  shown  that  in  a  very  large  number  of 
persons, — many  of  whom  (as  Mr.  Wingfield's  Cambridge  subjects1)  are  excel- 
lent examples  of  health  and  vigour,— certain  changes  of  memory,  sensibility, 
character,  occur  or  can  be  induced,  which  in  cases  where  they  are  carried 
furthest  amount  to  a  profound — even  a  permanent — even  a  salutary — 
modification  of  personality.  Taking,  then,  myself  as  my  example  (lest  I 
offend  my  reader  by  supposing  him  capable  of  being  changed  for  the  better), 
I  cannot  suppose  that  I  am  made  on  a  different  pattern  from  these  men 
simply  because  the  empirical  modes  of  inducing  these  changes,  as  thus  far 
discovered,  happen  to  have  no  effect  on  me.  I  conclude  that  I  simply  do  not 
know  of  what  modifications  the  stream  of  consciousness  of  which  my  organism 
is  the  basis  is  potentially  susceptible.  I  know  this  no  more  than  I  know  of 
what  modifications  the  human  germ  is  susceptible.  Since  the  era  of  my 
protozoic  ancestors  the  germ  which  is  now  human  has  shown  absolutely 
unpredictable  potentialities.  Whatever  bo  the  part  which  we  assign  to 
external  influences  in  its  evolution,  the  fact  remains  that  the  germ  possessed 
the  power  of  responding  in  an  indefinite  number  of  ways  to  an  indefinite 
number  of  stimuli.  It  was  only  the  accident  of  its  exposure  to  certain 
stimuli  and  not  to  others  which  has  made  it  what  it  now  is.  And  having 
shown  itself  bo  far  modifiable  as  to  acquire  these  highly  specialised  senses 
which  I  possess,  it  is  doubtless  still  modifiable  in  directions  as  unthinkable  to 
me  as  my  eyesight  would  have  been  unthinkable  to  the  oyster.  Nor  can  we 
limit  the  rate  of  change,  which,  so  far  as  cerebral  modifications  are  con- 
cerned, may  probably  be  increasingly  rapid  as  it  has  an  increasingly  complex 
material  to  work  on.  All  I  can  say  is  that  I  am  a  momentary  link  in  a 
chain  of  organisms  perpetually  changing  in  accordance  with  an  unknown  path 
of  evolution  ;  and  my  present  conscious  condition  represents  no  norm  what- 
ever, but  only  the  historical  fact  that  my  ancestors'  actual  mode  of  develop- 
ment was  sufficiently  suited  to  their  environment  to  keep  them  alive. 

so  many  Spiritualistic  journals  in  the  world,  and  yet  so  few  attempts  either  to  prove 

or  to  illustrate  this  central  article  of  faith,  id  to  me  a  never-ceasing  wonder.     I  can  only 

reite rate  my  own  anxious  desire  to  receive  records  of  experiments  from  observers  at 

every  point  of  view. 

1  See  Appendices  to  this  review. 


sappkmeiit]  "Automati&me  Psychologique"  191 

It  follows  that  so  long  as  we  are  dealing  with  mankind  from  a  rough 
practical  point  of  view, — as,  for  instance,  in  therapeutics, — we  may  without 
serious  error  treat  the  ordinary  state  of  health  and  intelligence  as  a  type  to 
which  aberrant  specimens  ought  to  be  recalled.  But  if  we  wish  to  engage, 
as  M.  Janet  engages,  in  a  more  original,  more  philosophical  discussion  of 
man's  personality,  we  have  no  longer  the  right  to  assume  that  our  common 
empirical  standard  gives  any  true  measurement  of  the  potentialities  of  man. 

From  among  a  good  many  passages  of  M.  Janet's  which  seem  to  me  thus 
lacking  in  width  of  purview,  I  take  one  (p.  137)  where,  amid  much  which 
I  hold  to  be  true  and  important  (see  Proceedings,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  226),  one 
phrase  occurs  which  places  our  point  of  difference  in  a  clear  light. 

"  The  memories  which  persist  in  a  man's  mind  are  grouped  and  aggregated 

round  some  one  leading  form  of  sensation  [i.e.,  as  visual  or  auditory  images, 

&c.\  which  serves  both  to  express  them  and  to  evoke  them  ;  and  when  they 

are  sufficiently  numerous  they  form  a  system  of  which  all  the  parts  cohere  and 

belong  to  the  same  memory.  A  man  perfectly  healthy  from  the  psychological 

point  of  view  would  never  possess  more  than  one  memory  of  this  kind, and  since 

all  the  phenomena  of  his  thought  would  be  attached  to  images  always  the 

same  and  always  present  to  him,  he  would  be  able  easily  to  evoke  them  all, 

and  at  any  moment.  But  no  one  is  thus  perfect ;  a  thousand  circumstances, — 

passion,   sleep,  drunkenness,  illness,  diminish  or  destroy  certain  images, 

revive  others,  and  change  the  whole  orientation  of  his  thought.     Secondary 

groups  of  memories  are  then  formed,  in  accordance  with  the  same  laws, 

around  certain  images  which  are  abnormal  in  his  mind  ;  [e.g..,  auditory  images 

in  a  *  visual,'  &c.]  ;  these  new  images  may  vanish  and  reappear  no  more  ;  but 

if  they  reproduce  themselves  periodically  or  are  brought  back  by  artifice, 

they  bring  with  them  all  the  memories  which  are  linked  with  them,  and  the 

different  memories  become  alternating  memories." 

The  main  truth  in  this  passage  (in  my  view)  lies  in  the  description  of  the 
growth  of  subsidiary  mnemonic  chains,  which  may  ultimately  enter  into 
rivalry  with  the  primary  mnemonic  chain  in  the  waking  individual.  The 
main  originality  lies  in  the  association  of  each  new  mnemonic  chain  with  a 
different  set  of  revivable  sense-images — so  that  a  "  visual "  formed  pro  tern. 
into  an  audile  (to  use  Galton's  terms)  enters  by  that  very  fact  into  a  fresh 
phase  of  personality.  This  ingenious  hypothesis  M.  Janet  has  shown  to  be 
probable  in  some  instances  ; — though  I  think  that  he  presses  it  too  far.  But 
the  main  error  which  the  passage  (as  I  think)  contains,  lies  in  the  conception 
of  the  psychologically  healthy  or  normal  man  who  has  one  set  of  memories 
only, — say  visual ;  sticks  to  that  set,  and  is  able  to  reproduce  at  will  all  the 
memories  which  have  been  grouped  around  his  stock  of  visual  images, — 
memories  (unless  I  much  mistake  M.  Janet)  of  objects  wittingly  (sciemment) 
observed  by  our  normal  man's  primary  consciousness. 

Now  I  say  that  such  a  man's  memories  may  of  course  be  practically 
adequate,  but  are  certainly  not  theoretically  complete.  I  hold  that  every 
impression  made  on  the  organism  (above  some  minimum  which  we  cannot 
guess  at)— be  it  visual,auditory,  or  tactile,  is  in  a  certain  sense  remembered  by 
some  stratum  of  that  organism,  and  is  potentially  capable  of  being  reproduced 
in  the  primary  memory.  If  called  upon  to  defend  this  thesis  at  length,  I 
should  find  various  experiments  of  M.  Janet's  own  to  add  to  the  converging 


192  Professor  Pierre  Janet's  [Supplement. 

mass  of  observations  which  this  view,  and  this  view  alone,  serves  to  explain 
and  to  unite. 

For  the  moment  I  must  confine  myself  to  a  single  concrete  illustration. 
In  the  paper  on  crystal-gazing  which  appeared  in  Proceedings  XIV.,  the  author 
gave  the  following  carefully  observed  incident.  She  saw  in  the  crystal, — as  an 
externalised  hallucination  which  M.  Janet  would  doubtless  class  as  morbid, — 
a  printed  announcement,  as  though  from  the  Times  newspaper,  of  the  death 
of  a  friend,  as  to  whose  health  she  was  in  no  way  preoccupied.  On  searching 
the  Times  of  the  previous  day  that  announcement  was  found.  But  Miss  X. 
had  never  consciously  read  it ; — never  read  it,  in  the  usual  sense,  at  all.  She 
had  simply  held  that  sheet  of  the  Times  to  shade  her  face  from  the  fire  while 
talking  to  Mrs.  Sidgwick,  with  whom  she  was  staying  at  the  time.  That  is  to 
say  the  words  of  the  announcement  had  imprinted  themselves  on  her  retina, 
but  their  meaning  had  never  reached  her  mind,  in  the  usual  sense  of  the 
term, — that  is,  her  primary  consciousness.  But  when  she  looked  in  the 
crystal, — used,  that  is  to  say,  an  empirical  method  for  facilitating  communica- 
tion between  the  subjacent  and  the  superficial  consciousness, — then  that 
subjacent  consciousness  was  able  to  convey,  in  hallucinatory  form,  this  true 
message  to  her  primary  self.  Now  I  say  that  in  so  far  as  any  one  possesses  a 
power  of  this  sort,  and  can  acquire  cognisance,  either  by  artifice  or  by  some 
spontaneous  uprush,  of  the  impressions  stored,  and  the  operations  proceeding, 
in  strata  deeper  than  his  primary  consciousness,  to  that  extent  is  he  superior 
and  not  inferior  to  ordinary  humanity,  more  "  normal  "  than  the  average 
man — if  any  norm  there  be — because  he  is  more  fully  utilising  the  possibili- 
ties of  his  being. 

In  Miss  X.'s  crystal-gazing  the  information  gained  is  often  trivial,  and  the 
upward-flowing  messages  interesting  mainly  in  their  theoretical  aspect.  But 
there  are  phenomena  of  a  more  exciting  kind  which  must  receive  just  the  same 
explanation.  The  differentia  (as  I  venture  to  hold)  of  genius  ; —  not  of  the 
genius  which  is  a  mere  extraordinary  capacity  for  taking  pains,  but  of  the 
sheer  unmistakable  creative  genius  (say  for  instance)  of  a  Mozart, — lies  in  this 
very  same  thing  ; — in  the  capacity  for  drawing  upwards  into  the  primary 
consciousness  the  results  of  operations  which  have  taken  place,  (with  no 
effort  to  the  primary  self,  and  often  beyond  its  conscious  capacity,)  in  the 
subjacent  strata  of  his  complex  intelligence.  And  if  after  this  the  man  of 
genius  should  suffer  from  nervous  exhaustion,  (which  is  by  no  means  always 
the  case,)  I  consider  that  he  has  accomplished  the  greater  object  at  the  cost  of 
the  lesser,  and  is  no  more  morbid  than  a  champion  sculler  is  morbid  because 
on  the  day  after  a  hard-won  race  he  has  a  pain  in  his  back.  This  mention  of 
the  case  of  genius  is  by  no  means  here  a  digression.  For  the  doctrine  that  le 
(jenie  est  unr-  ne'crose, — that  there  is  something  morbid  and  disequilibrated  in 
any  extraordinary  creative  power, — is  maintained  now-a-days1  with  arguments 
closely  resembling  those  which  M.  Janet  directs  against  the  soundness  of 
automatists  or  of  hypuotisablc  persons.  Genius,  automatism,  hypnotisability ; 
these  three  in  a  sense  must  stand  or  fall  together,  as  representing  unworked 
potentialities  of  the  human  spirit ;  accidental  or  empirical  modes  of  bringing 
"  the  good  treasures  of  the  heart  "  into  serviceability  to  the  conscious  self. 

1  See  Lonibrofro's  V Homme  de  Genie. 


supplement]  "Automatisme  PsychologiqueP  193 

For,  indeed,  the  capacity  of  being  hypnotised — to  return  thus  to  the 
immediate  arguments  of  our  author — is  surely  not,  as  he  would  have  us 
believe,  an  indication  of  something  in  the  subject  already  morbid,  or  on  the 
point  of  becoming  so.  Actual  experiment  (as  we  have  seen  in  Mr.  Wingneld's 
cases)  disproves  this  view  as  completely  as  my  theory  could  desire.  I  offer 
in  exchange  the  following  suggestion :  Hypnotisability  indicates  neither 
health  nor  disease  ;  but  merely  a  facility  of  communication  or  alternation 
between  different  strata  of  the  personality.  The  facility  of  such  interchange 
(like  other  capacities  of  strong  organic  reaction  to  given  stimuli)  may  be 
harmful  or  helpful  according  to  the  circumstances  of  each  case.  It  is  probable 
that  those  who  are  morbidly  unstable  to  begin  with  will  be  hypnotisable  also. 
And  thus  it  is  found  on  the  whole  (though  with  considerable  divergence 
between  observers)  that  hysterical  subjects  are  specially  hypnotisable.  But 
this  fact  constitutes  no  presumption  whatever  that  all  hypnotisable  subjects 
will  be  morbid.  As  well  might  one  say  that  because  drunken  men  fall  very 
sound  asleep,  therefore  everyone  who  falls  asleep  must  be  more  or  less 
drunk. 

We  have  dwelt  long  on  this  important  theoretical  point ;   for  this  too 
hasty  generalisation  of  M.  Janet's  from  his  own  experiences  with  morbid 
subjects  to  the  morbidity  of  all  subjects  lies  at  the  root  of  almost  all  in  his 
book  to  which  our  English  experience  would  lead  us  to  demur.     I  pass 
more  briefly  over  his  account  of  suggestion, — the  artificial  retrenchment  of 
the  field  of  consciousness, — which  he  classes  as  one  of  the  phenomena  of 
total  automatism.     In  reading  M.  Janet's  resumi  of  the  power  of  suggestion, 
with  his  apologies  for  again  treating  so  well-worn  a  theme,  we,  in  these 
Proceedings,  may  be  allowed  a  passing  reflection  on  the  extraordinary  rapidity 
with  which  the  phenomena  of  hypnotic  suggestion  have  taken  their  place 
among  the  common-places  of  experimental  psychology.  Hypnotic  suggestion, 
though  known  to  the  early  mesmerisers,  (now  beginning  at  last  to  receive 
due  honour),  in  England  as  well  as  in  France,  had,  in  this  generation,  fallen 
almost  wholly  out  of  the  scientific  purview,   and  was  looked  upon  as  a 
trick  of  itinerant  charlatans.       In  these  Proceedings,  however,  from  their 
very  inception,  we  have   dwelt  on    the  reality   and  the    power    of   this 
singular  agency.     I  suppose  that  other  English  organs  must  be  beginning  to 
deal   with  the  subject  now  ;    but  during  the  seven   years1  life  of  these 
Proceedings  I  cannot  remember  that  we  have  gathered  a  single  illustrative 
instance  from  any  English  periodical,  or  even  any  criticism,  except  the  oft- 
repeated  remark  that  the  subjects  of  suggestion  are  probably  either  paid,  or 
duping  the  operator. 

Well-worn  though  the  subject  may  now  be,  M.  Janet  has,  as  usual,  some 
ingenious  contributions  to  make  to  it.  One  of  the  most  striking  of  these  is 
an  experiment— or  rather  a  pair  of  experiments — which  show  the  con- 
vertibility of  what  I  have  elsewhere  called  active  and  passive  automatisms, 
— of  suggested  action  and  suggested  haUucination, — in  a  quite  novel  way. 

"  There  are  no  acts,"  says  M.  Janet  (p.  148),  "  without  an  image  in  the 
mind,  which,  although  associated  with  a  movement,  is  not  on  that  account 
the  less  intense.  A  subject  ordered  to  lift  her  arm  has  in  her  mind  an  image 
of  the  act — an  image  muscular  or  visual  as  the  case  may  be, — which  is  quite 
clear  and  exactly  like  a  hallucination.     For  instance,  I  bid  Marie  lift  her 


194  Professor  Pierre  Janet's  [Supplement 

arm,  but  I  straightway  seize  the  arm  and  arrest  the  movement.  Since  she 
has  no  muscular  sensibility  on  this  side  she  does  not  feel  my  action.  A  few 
moments  later  I  ask  her  where  her  arm  is,  and  she  answers  that  it  is  in  the 
air,  and  that  she  sees  it.  .  .  We  have  thus  suppressed  the  action  which 
under  ordinary  circumstances  masks  the  image  of  the  action,  and  have  left 
this  image  isolated  [divorced  from  its  habitual  realisation].  It  is  then  seen 
that  the  image  existed  in  full  completeness,  and  in  this  case  even  amounted 
to  a  hallucination.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  easy  to  show  that  some  move- 
ment [surely  it  would  be  safer  to  say  some  tendency  to  movement]  always 
accompanies  a  suggested  hallucination.  .  .  It  is  impossible  to  give  to  a 
visual  subject  the  visual  hallucination  of  the  movement  of  her  arm  without 
the  supervention  of  an  actual  movement.  I  told  Leonie,  after  bandaging 
her  eyes,  to  see  her  left  arm  rising  and  waving  in  the  air.  [Her  left  side  is 
anaesthetic,  so  that  its  automatic  movements  could  give  her  no  information.] 
In  a  few  moments  she  said,  *  Tes,  I  see  it ;  the  fingers  are  parted '  ;  but  at 
the  same  time  the  left  arm  [which  she  cannot  feel]  executed  just  the  move- 
ment which  she  declared  that  she  saw." 

The  value  or  novelty  of  each  experiment  of  this  type  can  hardly  be 
judged  except  by  those  who  have  followed  pretty  closely  the  long  series  of 
such  observations  which  have  of  late  been  accumulated  in  France.  It  is,  I 
think,  rather  unfortunate  that  the  work  on  Hypnotism,  written  for  the 
International  Scientific  Series, — though  lucid  and  ingenious  as  are  all  the 
productions  of  its  fertile  authors, — should  contain  at  least  one  series  of 
experiments  of  very  dubious  interpretation.  I  allude  to  the  trantfert,  and 
especially  the  traiisfert psychique,or  reversal  of  emotion, supposed  to  be  effected 
by  the  agency  of  magnets  on  hysterical  subjects.  The  very  curious  experi- 
ments of  Messrs.  Binet  and  Fe*re*  on  this  point  have  received  little  real 
confirmation  elsewhere ;  and  M.  Janet  is,  I  think,  probably  right  in 
attributing  the  phenomena  to  unconscious  suggestion,  working  on  some 
influence  of  a  vaguer  kind  which  the  magnet  may  perhaps  exert.  I  see, 
indeed,  that  in  his  latest  paper  (Rev.  Phil,  October,  1889,  p.  438)  M.  Binet 
himself  admits  as  an  explanation  of  this  so-called  psychical  polarisation  the 
view  of  Ottolenghi  and  Lombroso  that  "  the  principal  action  of  the  magnet 
on  the  organism  consists  in  suppressing  the  phenomena  previously  suggested  ; 
so  that — this  phenomenon  once  effaced — association  by  contrast  comes  into 
play,  and  produces  in  the  consciousness  a  negative  instead  of  a  positive 
phenomenon  " : — i.e.,  a  reversal  of  the  hallucinatory  idea  previously  dominant. 

But  I  must  pass  on  to  the  second  division  of  M.  Janet's  book, — in  which 
he  deals  with  partial  automatism  ; —  the  subconscious  acts  performed  by 
persons  in  a  waking  state,  in  obedience  sometimes  to  previous  suggestion  in 
the  hypnotic  trance,  or  sometimes  to  commands  insinuated  into  the  waking 
.subject  pat  distraction  ; — by  whispers  or  tactile  hints  which  the  main 
consciousness  of  the  subject  does  not  perceive,  but  which  induce  (say)  her 
amesthetic  hand  to  write  automatic  replies.  Automatic  we  are  forced  to  call 
these  acts,  but  (as  M.  Janet  justly  insists)  we  must  not  therefore  assume  that 
they  are  effected  without  a  consciousness  of  their  own.  I  must  not  here 
dwell  on  the  details  of  these  ingenious  investigations,  of  many  of  which  some 
account  has  already  been  given  in  these  Proceedings. 

Bather  let  me  once  more  colligate  these  and  many  similar  experiments  in 


supplement]  " Automatisme  Psychologique."  195 

a  single  hypothesis,  and  give  to  human  personality  a  definition  as  wide  as 
such  observations  seem  to  require.  I  suggest  that  every  cell  in  our  bodies 
may  have  a  separate  memory,  and  therefore  in  a  sense  a  rudimentary 
personality  of  its  own.  Every  combination  of  cells,  every  nerve,  every 
muscle,  every  limb  or  tract  of  the  body,  with  its  brain-connections,  may  have 
a  more  complex  memory  of  its  own,  and  may  recollect  and  give  account  of 
incidents  of  which  the  ordinary  waking  consciousness  has  never  been  aware. 
These  are  separate  memories  which  do  not  deserve  the  title  of  separate 
personalities,  except  in  the  sense  in  which  that  word  may  be  applied  to  the 
brute  creation.  Above  this  comes  the  immense  nervous  apparatus 
which  corresponds  to  the  human  mind  :  and  of  this  apparatus  we  habitually 
use  only  some  such  proportion  as  our  English  vocabulary  bears  to  all 
possible  combinations  of  the  alphabet.  The  letters  of  our  inward  alphabet 
will  shape  themselves  into  many  other  dialects  ; — many  other  personalities,  as 
distinct  as  those  which  we  assume  to  be  ourselves,  can  be  made  out  of  our 
mental  material.  In  some  extreme  case  these  allotropic  personalities  may 
alternate  with  or  supersede  the  personalities  which  we  have  learnt  to  call  our 
own.  But  in  ordinary  cases,  where  they  do  not  thus  emerge,  we  must  not 
assume  that  they  are  non-existent.  It  may  be  indeed  that  they  are  not 
shaped  into  definite  chains  of  memory — a  Lucie  II.  and  a  Lucie  III. — as  in 
M.  Janet's  subjects.  It  may  be  that  the  very  formation  in  us  of  anything  so 
narrow  and  confined  as  what  we  know  as  personality,  is  in  itself  a  limitation 
of  our  essential  being, —  a  mere  mode  of  concentration  in  order  to  meet  the 
perils  of  our  environment.  But  in  some  way  or  other — personalised  or  not 
personalised — a  continuous  activity  of  our  whole  being  goes  on,  of  which  the 
results  are  in  some  sense  psychical,  in  some  sense  permanent.  Every 
impression  made  upon  or  within  the  organism  has  a  psychical  counterpart, 
and  this,  or  the  capacity  of  reproducing  this,  is  somewhere  fixed  and  pre- 
served. The  question  as  to  what  part  of  a  man's  being  enters  into  his 
ordinary  consciousness  is  like  the  question  what  part  of  his  body  when  he 
floats  on  the  sea,  floats  above  water.  It  is  necessary  for  his  preservation  that 
a  certain  minimum  should  so  float  ;  but  the  submerged  portion  is  living  with 
the  same  life  as  the  portion  exposed. 

Our  hypothesis,  it  is  manifest,  may  be  carried  one  step  further.  Each  of 
the  personalities  within  us  is  itself  the  summation  of  many  narrower  and 
inferior  memories.  It  is  conceivable  that  there  may  be  for  each  man  a  yet 
more  comprehensive  personality — or  say  an  individuality — which  correlates 
and  comprises  all  known  and  unknown  phases  of  his  being.  Such  a  notion 
can  no  longer  be  dismissed  as  merely  mystical  ;  analogy  points  to  it ;  and 
although  no  observation  could  fully  prove  it  there  may  well  be  observations 
which  may  make  it  probable.  But  here  as  everywhere  fearless  analysis  is 
the  pre-requisite  of  any  sound  construction.  We  must  not  shrink  from 
pulling  ourselves  to  pieces  if  we  hope  to  find  indications  that  there  is  some- 
thing in  us  larger  and  more  perdurable  than  we  had  previously  supposed. 

An  important  chapter  of  M.  Janet's  book, — "  Desagregation  Psycholo- 
gique," — is  devoted  to  the  review  of  a  subject  where  premature  construction 
has  long  hindered  necessary  analysis.  It  requires  some  courage, — perhaps 
more  courage  in  France  even  than  in  England, — for  a  scientific  writer  so 
much  as    to  discuss  the  Spiritistic  literature.     M.   Janet  faces  the  task, 

O  1 


196  Professor  Pierre  Janets  [Supplement. 

though  in  tho  spirit  of  a  chemist  studying  the  records  of  alchemy.  "  Experi- 
mental psychology,"  he  says,  "  began  by  being  animal  magnetism  and 
spiritism  ;  let  us  not  forget  this  fact,  nor  laugh  at  our  ancestors." 

His  treatment  of  the  problem  is  careful  and  candid,  and  he  has  little 
difficulty  in  explaining  most  of  the  facts  accessible  to  him  on  lines  familiar  to 
the  readers  of  these  Prvceetlingn, — as  the  manifestation  of  some  disintegration 
of  personality  within  the  medium  rather  than  of  some  invasion  of  a  personality 
from  without.  I  say  that  "  most  of  the  facts  accessible  to  him  "  are  explica- 
ble in  this  way.  But  there  are,  I  know,  other  facts  less  easy  of  explanation. 
Never  could  there  bo  a  better  moment  than  now  for  some  new  champion  of 
the  Spiritual  explanation  of  automatic  writing  to  enter  the  field.  He  must 
be  someone  capable  of  understanding  the  essential  points  as  to  evidence  of 
outside  intelligence  on  which  dispassionate  critics  are  now  agreeing,  and 
which  it  is  no  disgrace  to  the  earlier  Spiritualists  that  they  could  not  at  once 
divine.  And  he  must  be  someone  really  patient,  really  diligent, — willing  to 
bestow  on  his  experiments— what  I  much  doubt  whether  any  Spiritualist 
author  has  yet  done — something  approaching  the  time  and  care  which  M. 
Janet  has  bestowed  upon  his.  The  few  cases  which  have  been  sent  to  myself, 
by  M.  Aksakof  and  others,  in  response  to  previous  appeals  of  this  kind,  are 
quite  enough  to  show  the  real  importance  to  science  of  the  fullest  possible 
presentation  of  that  very  theory  against  whose  rash  and  hasty  adoption  both 
M.  Janet's  arguments  and  my  own  have  thus  far  been  directed.1 

This  long  review  must  now  draw  to  a  close.  I  may  perhaps  end  it  by 
quoting  a  curious  example  given  by  M.  Janet  (p.  466)  in  his  last  chapter,  "La 
Faiblesse  et  la  Force  Morales,"  to  show  how  the  tendency  to  "  psychological 
automatism  "  is  latent  in  all  of  us,  but  gathers  force  to  manifest  itself  only 
when  we  are  brought  "  below  par  "  by  fatigue  or  disease. 

44  Tt  is  commonly  said  that  love  is  a  passion  to  which  man  is  always  liable, 
and  which  may  surprise  him  at  any  moment  of  his  life,  from  15  to  75.  This 
does  not  seem  to  me  accurate  ;  and  a  man  is  not  throughout  all  his  life  and 
at  every  moment  susceptible  of  falling  in  love  (tie  devetur  amoureux).  When 
a  man  is  in  good  physical  and  moral  health,  when  he  has  easy  and  com- 
plete com  maud  of  all  his  ideas,  he  may  expose  himself  to  circumstances  the 
most  capable  of  giving  rise  to  a  passion,  but  he  will  not  feel  it.  His  desires 
will  be  reasonable  and  obedient  to  his  will,  leading  tho  man  only  so  far  as  he 
wishes  to  go,  and  disappearing  when  ho  wishes  to  be  rid  of  them.  On  the 
other  hand  if  a  man  is  morally  below  the  mark  (maladt  au  moral), — if  in 
consequence  of  physical  fatigue  or  excessive  intellectual  work,  or  of  violent 
shocks  and  prolonged  sorrow,  he  is  exhausted,  melancholy,  distracted,  timid* 
incapable  of  controlling  his  ideas, — in  a  word,  depressed, — then  he  will  fall  in 


1  An  allusion  made  by  M.  Janet  to  the  Rev.  P.  H.  Newnham  (p.  392)  gives  me 
opj>ortunity  of  reflating  my  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  kindness  and  candour 
with  which  Mr.  Newnham  presents  me  with  the  original  private  note-book*  containing? 
his  experiments, — which  hooks  I  shall  \\e  glad  at  any  time  to  show  to  inquirers. 
Newnham,  who  had  lived  for  some  years  in  the  calm  but  constant  expectation  of 
from  disease  of  the  heart,  has  now  passed  away  ;  and  I  may  repeat  the  witness 
others  who  knew  him  more  intimately  than  I,  to  the  effect  that  a  simpler,  franker^ 
more  saw,  more  upright  character  has  rarely  been  met  with  even  in  that  profc 
whose  duties  he  fulfilled  so  earnestly  so  long  as  any  strength  to  fulfil  them  rei 


supplement.]  '* Automatisme  P&ychologique"  197 

love,  or  receive  the  genu  of  some  kind  of  passion,  on  the  first  and  most 
trivial  occasion.  .  .  The  least  thing  is  then  enough  ;  the  sight  of  some 
face,  a  gesture,  a  word,  which  previously  would  have  left  us  altogether 
indifferent,  strikes  us,  and  becomes  the  starting  point  of  a  long  amorous 
malady.  Or  more  than  this,  an  object  which  had  made  no  impression  on  us, 
at  a  moment  when  our  mind  was  healthier  and  not  capable  of  inoculation, 
may  have  left  in  us  some  insignificant  memory  which  reappears  in  a  moment 
of  morbid  receptivity.  That  is  enough  ;  the  germ  is  sown  in  a  favourable 
soil  ;  it  will  develop  itself  and  grow. 

"  There  is  at  first,  as  in  every  virulent  malady,  a  period  of  incubation  ;  the 

new    idea  passes    and  repasses  in    the  vague  reveries    of    the  enfeebled 

consciousness  ;  then  seems  for  a  few  days  to  have  disappeared  and  to  leave 

the  mind  to  recover  from  its  passing  trouble.     But  the  idea  has  done  its 

work  below  the  surface  ;  it  has  become  strong  enough  to  shake  the  body  ; 

and  to  provoke  movements  whose  origin  lies  outside  the  primary  consciousness. 

What  is  the  surprise  of  a  sensible  man  when  he  finds  himself  piteously 

returning  beneath  the  windows  of  his  charmer,  whither  his  wandering  feet 

have  taken  him  without  his  knowledge  ; — or  when  in  the  midst  of  his  daily 

work  he  hears  his  lips  murmuring  perpetually  the  well-known  name  !     .     . 

Such  is  passion  in  its  reality  ;   not  as  idealised   by  fantastic  description, 

but  reduced  to  its  essential  psychological  characteristics." 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  eloquent  passage, — as  of  a  modernised  Lucretius, 
—is  thoroughly  in  harmony  with  M.  Janet's  opinions,  as  above  discussed, 
with  regard  to  the  normal  condition  and  necessary  limitations  of  the 
psychical  energies  of  man.  It  is  opposed  to  the  wider  hopes  and  conceptions 
vhich  I  have  indicated  ;  but  I  shall  not  here  again  argue  the  point  in 
detail.  I  shall  leave  it  to  vol  che  avete  intelletto  d'amore  to  consider  whether 
H.  Janet's  analysis  is  sound  or  complete, — whether  such  words  as  Plato 
and  Dante  have  spoken  concerning  love  are  "  descriptions  faiUaisistes," 
or  living  records  of  profoundest  truth  ; — whether  that  were  a  sign  of 
strength  or  of  weakness, — that  most  overmastering,  most  irrational  of  all 
recorded  passions,  which  yet  was  as  a  Vita  Nuova  to  one  potent  heart  : — 
vhich  could  prompt  to  high  effort,  and  soar  above  desire,  and  project 
its  passionate  ardour  beyond  the  gulf  of  death.  For  my  part  I  have 
fear  lest  so  soon  as  we  come  to  disbelieve  in  the  highest  facts  of 
is  past,  and  to  despair  of  surpassing  them  in  man's  future, — so  soon  as  we 
that  we  have  already  attained  our  full  normal  development,  and  that 
tls  obscure  strivings  of  this  restless  spirit  must  lead  henceforth  nowhither  ; — 
ftaby  that  very  assumption  we  shall  have  entered  upon  our  decadence,  and 
■vital  our  degeneration  and  decay. 


-  * 


This  review,  with  the  reviews  which  follow,  must  serve  for  the  present 

jiW  *  s  fulfilment  of  our  promise  of  a  survey  of  the  existing  condition  of 

■Jpwfcism  in  France. 

I  have  touched  above    on  several  of  the  points  which  excited  most 

trorersy  at  the  recent  International  Congress  of  Experimental  Psychology, 

ifcose  discussions  hypnotism  played    a    leading    part.     For    the  rest, 

impression  produced  by  that  Congress    was  that  of    the    increasing 

Jtanoe  of  most  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Nancy  school.     Readers  oi  tVve%« 


198  Professor  Pierre  Janet's  psappiemait. 

Proceedings  will  not  be  surprised  at  this  result,  which  represents  in  fact 
essentially  the  triumph  of  generalisations  based  on  a  wider  experience  oyer 
generalisations  based  on  a  narrower  experience, — narrower,  I  say,  in  spite  of 
the  vast  extent  and  skilled  organisation  of  the  Salp6triere — because  the 
subjects  there  submitted  to  experiment  have  been  all  of  nearly  the  same 
type, — hysterical  and  epileptic  invalids.  The  school  of  Nancy  is  gaining 
ground,  with  its  demonstration  that  the  "three  stages"  of  the  "gixtnd 
hi/ptiotisme  "  under  M.  Charcot's  rule  are  rarely  reproduced  elsewhere,  and 
are  therefore  not  a  necessary  or  typical  manifestation  of  the  hypnotic  state. 
Nancy  is  gaining  ground  with  its  insistance  on  the  power  of  suggestion,  and 
its  belief  in  the  hypnotisation  of  healthy  subjects.  But, — if  a  foreign 
observer  may  repeat  the  warning  which  impartial  judges  like  M.  Richet  are 
already  uttering  in  France, — I  see  a  cloud  on  the  horizon  of  Nancy's  fame. 
Its  leading  men  (except  the  veteran  Li6beault)  are  pushing  their  theory  too 
far,  and  insisting  that  aU  in  hypnotism  is  suggestion,  and  that  there  are  no 
physical  influences  whatever,  whether  from  passes,  metals,  or  magnets.  On 
this  point  I  must  adhere  to  the  view  which  I  have  often  expressed  in  these 
Proceedings,  that  passes  almost  certainly,  metals  probably,  magnets  possibly, 
do  sometimes  exert  a  physical  influence  ;  and  that  we  are  yet  far  from  having 
exhausted  the  agencies  which  operate  between  one  human  being  and  another. 
Has  not  the  history  of  hypnotism  thus  far  been  a  slow  but  repeated  justifica- 
tion of  those  who,  in  each  successive  controversy,  took  the  wider  and  less 
exclusive  view  ?  of  those  who  recognised  most  frankly  the  magnitude,  the 
obscurity,  the  unpredictable  issues  of  this  ever  more  penetrating  inquiry 
into  the  hidden  mechanism  of  man  ? 


APPENDIX  I. 

Mr.  Hugh  Wingfield,  who,  when  holding  a  University  appointment  as 
Demonstrator  of  Physiology  at  Cambridge,  had  very  wide  opportunities  of 
choosing  subjects  from  his  large  classes  of  medical  students,  sends  me  the 
following  statement. 

September  6f/t,  1889. 

I  subjoin  the  results  of  my  own  experience  of  hypnotic  subjects. 

I  have  hypnotised  at  first  trial  over  170  men,  between  the  ages  of  17  and 
28,  having  had  about  20  per  cent,  of  failures. 

I  do  not  know  how  many  I  could  have  hypnotised  had  I  persisted,  as,  if  I 
failed  once,  I  never  tried  again. 

The  subjects,  with  the  exception  of  18,  were  'all  undergraduates.  Con- 
sidering the  extreme  rarity  of  hysteria  among  men  in  England,  it  is  utterly 
incredible  that  I  should  have  hit  upon  170  hysterical  men  haphazard. 
Besides,  I  always  refused  to  hypnotise  anyone  unless  I  believed  them  to  be 
perfectly  free  from  hysteria. 

In  the  only  three  cases  where  abnormal  symptoms  presented  themselves 
during  the  hypnotic  state  (I  cannot  say  that  the  symptoms  were  hysterical), 
I  rejected  the  subjects. 

In  most  cases  I  did  not  test  the  subjects  for  hemi-ancesthesia  or  other 
hysterical  symptoms,  as  it  was  quite  superfluous  to  do  so  ;  but  in  certain 
experiments  on  sensation  it  was  necessary  to  test  the  sensation  of  both 


supplement]  "Automctii&nie  Psychologique"  199 

hands  ;  and  I  have  also  sometimes  tested  the  sensation  of  both  forearms  and 
the  two  sides  of  the  face  ;  yet  in  no  single  instance  could  I  detect  any 
abnormality  whatever. 

With  regard  to  the  other  cases,  none  so  far  as  I  know  (I  have  only 
inquired  of  a  few)  had  ever  had  any  symptom  of  hysteria. 

It  seems  distinctly  unfair  to  argue  that  because  hysterical  subjects  are 
easily  hypnotised,  all  subjects  must  be  hysterical.  Besides  which,  I  very 
much  doubt  the  susceptibility  of  aft  hysterical  persons.  I  have  found  two 
whom  I  could  scarcely  influence  at  all.  Personally,  I  am  quite  convinced  that 
large  numbers  of  persons  who  have  no  symptom  of  hysteria  whatever  can  be 
readily  hypnotised. 

H.    £.    WlNGFIELD. 


APPENDIX  H. 

On  the  general  question  of  the  comparative  frequency  of  hysteria  in 
France  and  England,  Dr.  A.  T.  Myers  sends  me  the  following  note  : — 

4 'The  position  of  hysteria  among  the  diseases  of  England  and  France  is 
very  different.  The  *  grande  hystdrie '  which  French  study  has  of  recent 
years  defined  and  accentuated  among  nearly  all  large  collections  of  the 
young  as  well  as  of  the  sick  in  France,  and  more  especially  in  Paris,  is 
hard  to  find  in  England  even  when  sought  for,  and  very  imperfect  in 
its  French  equipment  of  ansesthesise  and  paresthesias  and  elaborate  sequence 
of  four  periods  of  convulsion,  so  that  it  offers  comparatively  little  op- 
portunity for  testing,  for  instance,  whether  metallo-therapy  acts  purely 
by  suggestion  or  not.  And  the  'petite  hystdrie,*  the  possibility  of  which 
the  French  observer  can  never  forget  when  he  is  dealing  with  young  people, 
especially  if  they  are  being  hypnotised,  is  out  of  the  question  for  almost 
every  one  of  such  subjects  as  have  come  most  completely  under  Mr.  G.  A. 
Smith's  influence  and  furnished  the  staple  of  Mr.  Gurney's  inductions. 
Cases  of  it  may  be  found,  no  doubt,  in  a  few  morbid  conditions  of  health  and 
surroundings  in  all  classes  in  England,  but  not  among  the  vigorous,  hard- 
working telegraph  boys,  or  apprentices  to  active  trades,  who  have  to  spend 
half  their  day  in  the  open  air  and  to  learn  how  to  use  their  muscles. 

"  The  diffusion  of  hysteria  among  the  European  races  seems  to  be  far  from 
uniform.  The  widest  experience  shows  that  the  French  have  on  the  whole 
had  the  most  cases  to  deal  with  (Strumpell)  ;  and  among  them  some  of  the 
most  severe  type.  The  Italians,  Spaniards,  and  Greeks  apparently  suffer 
more  from  hysteria  than  the  English,  Germans,  or  Dutch.  Among  the 
Sclavonic  races  there  are  occasional  limited  endemics  (Hirsch)  ;  and  the  Jews 
are  credited  with  a  large  percentage  (Grasset). 


200  Binet  on  the  Consciousness  of  tsnppWment. 


IV. 

BINET  ON  THE   CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  HYSTERICAL 

SUBJECTS.^ 
By  F.  W.  H.  Mybhs, 

M.  Binet  is  doubtless  known  to  most  ot  our  readers  as  one  of  the  most 
ingenious  and  suggestive  of  modern  French  experimental  psychologists.  He 
has  worked  mainly  in  association  with  Dr.  Fer6,  and  at  the  Salpdtriere  ;  but  his 
range  of  speculation  is  wide,  and  his  book  on  La  Psychologie  du  RauonnemetU, 
and  his  Etudes  de  Psychologie  Bxperimeitiale  enjoy  a  just  reputation.  The 
present  article  is  an  account  of  experiments  performed  on  hysterics  at 
the  Salp&triere  ;  and  on  this  point  two  preliminary  remarks  must  be  made. 
In  the  first  place,  one  feels  that  the  Salpdtriere  has,  in  a  sense,  been 
smothered  in  its  own  abundance.  The  richest  collection  of  hysterics  which 
the  world  has  ever  seen,  it  has  also  (one  fears)  become  a  kind  of  unconscious 
school  of  these  unconscious  prophets — a  milieu  where  the  new  arrival  learns 
insensibly  from  the  very  atmosphere  of  experiment  around  her  to  adapt  her 
own  reflexes  or  responses  to  the  subtly-divined  expectations  of  the  operator. 
One  is  inclined,  therefore,  to  wait  until  a  series  of  Salpdtriere  experiments 
have  been  independently  confirmed  elsewhere  before  offering  them  to  an 
English  public,  which,  from  our  marked  poverty  in  hysterics,  is  little  likely 
to  have  the  chance  of  verifying  the  results  de  vwn. 

But  in  this  case  M.  Binet's  experiments  are  so  strikingly  in  concordance 
with  the  quite  independent  results  obtained  both  by  M.  Pierre  Janet  and 
by  some  of  ourselves  in  England, — and  are,  moreover,  in  themselves  so  easy 
of  repetition,  if  only  a  properly  anaesthetic  subject  can  be  secured,— that 
some  account  of  them  seems  due  to  the  readers  of  these  Proceedings. 

In  the  second  place,  it  may  be  said  that  these  are  pathological  phenomena  ; 
and  that  our  Society  is  not  concerned  with  disease.  To  this  I  answer  that 
these  are  not  pathological  phenomena,  but  pathological  revelations  of  normal 
phenomena,  which  is  a  very  different  thing.  The  gearing  of  the  hysteric's 
inward  factory  is  disconnected  ;  the  couplings  are  shifted  in  all  sorts  of 
injurious  ways  ;  some  of  the  wheels  are  standing  still,  and  some  are  whizzing 
uselessly  round  and  round.  But  the  wheelwork  is  still  all  there  ;  and  by 
observing  the  various  hitches  and  stoppages  which  are  now  taking  place,  we 
can  get  a  better  notion  of  the  way  the  power  is  applied  than  t^e  smoothly- 
working,  carefully-boxed  machinery  of  the  healthy  subject  is  likely  to  give 
us.  Above  all,  we  must  avoid  the  assumption  that  the  hysteric  possesses 
any  capacity  whatever  which  we  do  not  all  of  us  potentially  possess.  Is  the  ' 
hysteric  hypenesthetic  ?  Then  so  do  we  all  potentially  possess  the  acuteness 
of  smell  or  sight  or  hearing  which  she  manifests.  No  fresh  anatomical 
element  is  added  to  her  ear  or  eye  ;  no  fresh  physiological  pro]>erty  to  any 
one  molecule  in  her  body.     What  she  can  do,  we  can  do, — only  as  that  has  not 

1  Recherchcs  mir  les  Alterations  de  la  Conscience  chez  les  Hysteriques.  A.  Binet, 
Revue  Philosophiquc,  February,  1889. 


supplement.]  Hysterical  Subjects.  201 

been  the  most  useful  way  of  exerting  our  innate  powers,  our  ancestry  has  so 
arranged  us  that  those  hysterical  delicacies  of  perception  remain  in  us  latent 
and  unknown.  Is  the  hysteric  dissociable  into  two  or  more  co-existent 
personalities  ?  Then  so  are  we  also  presumably  dissociable  ;  our  machinery 
is  made  on  the  same  plan  as  hers  ;  though  the  belt  which  for  her  has  slipped 
from  the  shaft,  in  us  still  keeps  its  place,  and  holds  our  personalities  together. 

Nay  more,  if  that  purely  imaginary  entity,  the  normal  man,  is  still  held 
up  before  us  as  incapable  ex  vi  termini  of  any  change  which  is  not  degener- 
ation, we  shall  reply  that  after  all  it  is  one  of  the  perfections  of  a  complex 
instrument  to  admit  of  the  ready  disconnection  of  its  constituent  parts  ;  and 
that  our  true  ideal  should  be, — neither  the  rigid  connections  of  Bo-called 
normality,  nor  the  ungovernable  disconnections  of  hysteria, — but  a  condition 
in  which  we  should  be  able  to  connect  or  disconnect  any  element  within  us 
at  pleasure.  We  can  at  present  do  this  to  a  slight  extent,  and  we  account 
this  power  as  a  gain.  It  is  a  gain,  for  instance,  to  be  able  to  abstract  one's 
attention, — to  become  temporarily  anaesthetic  to  noises  around  one.  This  may, 
indeed,  be  pushed  too  far  ;  as  we  know  that  a  soldier  cut  off  Archimedes' 
head  while  that  philosopher  was  meditating  on  the  hypothenuse.  But  our 
ideal  should  go  beyond  Archimedes  ; — it  should  be  to  cut  off  the  soldier's 
head  with  one  of  our  personalities,  while  we  meditate  unbrokenly  on  the 
hypothenuse  with  the  other. 

Let  us  proceed  now  to  M.  Binet  and  his  hysterics ;  remembering  that 
just  as,  in  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer's  phrase,  "  the  mobile  in  expression  represent 
the  race," — give  overt  manifestation  to  such  slight  changes  as  pass  over  the 
moods  of  all ; — so  also  do  these  far  more  profoundly  mobile  beings  *'  repre- 
sent the  race  "  in  deeper  fashion  ; — sometimes  even  dissect  away  our  recent 
nervous  acquisitions,  and  lay  bare  processes  that  correspond  to  a  long-past 
stage  of  evolution. 

The  first  point  to  remark  is  that  the  anaesthetic  limb  of  a  hysteric  is 
almost  always  capable  of  certain  simple  movements,  which  it  executes  with- 
out the  subject's  knowledge,  or  when  concealed  from  the  subject  by  a  screen. 
If  the  anaesthetic  arm,  for  instance,  is  moved  in  a  certain  way,  and  then  left 
to  itself,  it  continues  the  movement.  If  it  is  guided  into  writing  a  word  or 
words,  and  then  left  to  itself,  it  will  repeat  the  word,  or  continue  the  sentence. 
It  acts,  in  short,  very  much  as  the  subject's  planch ette- writing  hand  in  Mr. 
Ourney's  experiments  acted  when  fulfilling  a  post-hypnotic  suggestion.  Let 
us  see  how  far  this  supposed  anaesthetic  arm  is  really  intelligent,  or  is  really 
susceptible  of  pain. 

If  we  merely  prick  the  anaesthetic  hand  it  in  no  way  reacts, — shows  no 
disposition  to  avoid  the  pin.  Perhaps  this  is  because  the  pin-prick  awakes 
no  definite  conception.     Let  us  try  a  more  complex  stimulus. 

"  We  place  in  the  right  (anaesthetic)  hand  of  Amelie  Cle —  a  box  of 
matches  ;  a  large  vertical  screen  prevents  the  patient  from  seeing  her  hand. 
After  a  moment's  contact  the  right  hand  clasps  the  box  ;  fingers  it ;  seems 
to  recognise  it ;  strikes  a  match  and  holds  it  alight ;  as  the  flame  advances 
the  fingers  withdraw,  as  if  they  felt  and  shunned  the  heat ;  and  when  the 
flame  nears  the  end  of  the  match  the  fingers  open  and  the  match  falls." 
From  this  experiment  it  is  not  clear  whether  pain  is  felt,  or  whether  the 
whole  act  is  a  mere  piece  of  what,  in  a  normal  waking  person,  we  cal 


202  Binet  on  the  Consciousness  of  [Supplement. 

secondary  automatism  ; — the  repetition  of  a  familiar  series  of  actions  without 
conscious  attention. 

Let  us  now, — I  abbreviate  M.  Biuet's  account, — give  the  match-box  to  a 
second  subject,  L.  Lavr — .  She  opens  the  box,  but  having  taken  out  a  match 
imagines  it  to  be  a  pencil,  and  tries  to  write  with  it.  We  light  the  match 
and  give  it  back  to  her.  She  does  not  realise  that  it  is  a  match,  and  holds 
this  and  a  second  burning  match  till  they  are  consumed  or  go  out,  and  her 
lingers  are  much  burnt.  This  resembles  an  imperfect  instinct ;  as  when 
ants  store  up  beads  which  the  observer  has  sown  in  their  hunting-fields. 

The  result  of  the  experiment  with  another  subject,  Louise  St.  Am.,  is 
still  more  curious.  She  drops  the  burning  match,  but  then  at  once  picks  it 
up  again.  This  resembles  the  tendency  of  caterpillars,  <fcc.,  to  go  back  to 
the  beginning  of  a  series  of  actions,  if  interrupted.1  The  Sphex  which,  after 
its  burrow  had  been,  to  its  knowledge,  emptied  of  the  prey  which  it 
wished  to  wall  up  there,  walled  up  the  useless  burrow  all  the  same,  before 
beginning  another,  was  obeying  the  same  instinct  as  Louise,  of  continuing 
the  series  of  actions  in  the  accustomed  order,  without  regard  to  the  special 
circumstances  of  the  case.  Sphex  and  anaesthetic  hand  each  afforded  an 
instance  of  "  lapsed  intelligence/'  nervous  adjustments  originally  acquired 
by  intelligent  effort,  but  now  irrecoverably  sunk  into  routine.  "How," 
asks  M.  Binet,  "  can  one  explain  the  preservation  of  tactile  sensibility  along 
with  the  loss  of  sensibility  to  pain  ?  Are  there  two  orders  of  sensibility  in 
connection  with  different  centres  ?  Are  there  nerves  for  pain,  a  centre  for 
pain,  distinct  from  the  nerves  and  centres  of  sensation  ?  Or  does  the 
distinction  between  these  two  sensibilities  consist  in  a  fact  of  central 
perception  ?  If  the  sensibility  to  pain  seems  to  be  suppressed  both  for  the 
primary  personality  and  for  the  secondary  personality, — that  is  to  say,  for  the 
anesthetic  limb, — are  we  to  conclude  that  hysterical  analgesia,  in  certain 
subjects,  may  be  an  absolute  destruction  of  sensibility  to  pain,  and  not  an 
alteration  of  consciousness  ?  " 

I  should  reply  that  we  must  not  so  conclude  in  any  absolute  manner ;  but 
that  all  analogy  shows  that  where  there  is  not  actual  previous  lesion  or 
atrophy  of  the  nerves  the  injury  to  them  is  perceived  and  the  pain  is — I  do 
not  say  fdt,  but  rccoynLied, — by  some  personality  or  other.  I  must  suppose 
that  in  Louise  St.  Am.'s  case,  just  as  in  the  case  of  Blanche  Witt — ,  (men- 
tioned in  the  review  of  Dr.  Jules  Janet's  paper,  vid.  inf.  p.  216),  there  is  a 
yet  deeper  personality  which  the  experimenter  has  not  reached,  and  which 
was  all  the  time  mutely  upbraiding  the  folly  of  the  anaesthetic  hand  in 
mistaking  a  lighted  match  for  a  lead  pencil. 

As  regards  the  dissociation  of  tactile  from  dolorous  sensibility,  I  may 
just  remark  that  it  is  quite  possible  that  our  earliest  monocellular  ancestors 
may  have  possessed  the  power  of  feeling  contact,  but  not  of  feeling  pain. 
If  sensibility  to  pain  be  a  protective  character  acquired  in  the  struggle  for 
existence,  the  hysterical  severance  of  the  two  sensibilities  is  less  incredible 
than  it  may  at  first  appear. 

The  next  point  of  interest  observed  by  M.  Binet  lies  in  the  automatic 
writing  of  these  hysterical  subjects.  "  When  a  hysteric  holds  a  pen  in  her 
anaesthetic  hand  [concealed   by  a  screen],  in  the  attitude  appropriate  to 

1  Darwin  in  Romanes'  Mental  Evolution  in  Animals,  p.  179. 


supplement]  Hysterical  Subjects.  203 

writing,  the  pen  will  register  the  ideas  which  predominate  in  her  conscious- 
ness." If  the  subject  is  told  to  think  of  a  name  or  a  number,  the  pen — 
unknown  to  her  primary  self — will  write  that  name  or  number.  Or,  if  the 
subject  spontaneously  thinks  of  a  number,  and  the  operator  then  lifts  a  finger 
of  the  anaesthetic  hand  several  times  in  succession,  the  finger  will  stiffen 
when  the  operator  has  reached  the  number  which  the  primary  self  is  thinking 
of.  The  anaesthetic  hand  can  thus  be  taught  to  indicate  the  subject's  thoughts 
by  a  variety  of  gestures,  though  it  is  slow  in  learning  to  substitute  one  gesture 
for  another, — e.p.,  finger-lifting  for  writing. 

And  now  let  us  reverse  the  process ;  let  us  give  the  information  first  to 
the  anaesthetic  hand,  and  see  whether,  and  in  what  form,  the  same  kind  of 
subterraneous  communication  will  transmit  the  intelligence  to  the  primary 
self.  Let  us  take  the  simplest  form  of  experiment,  which  is  also  one  of  the 
most  interesting  to  students  of  automatic  writing. 

"The  first  subject  observed  was  a  hysterical  woman,  M61 — , whose  right 
arm  was  anaesthetic.  She  did  not  perceive  the  passive  movements  of  a 
general  kind  which  were  communicated  to  this  arm  ;  but  if  one  placed  a  pen 
in  her  right  hand,  and  made  the  hand  write  a  word,  the  patient  at  once 
guessed  the  word,  with  her  eyes  shut.  She  nevertheless  did  not  feel,  she 
said,  the  graphic  movement  communicated  to  her  hand  ;  but  she  had  a 
visual  image  of  the  word,  which  appeared  to  her  suddenly,  ( as  if  it  were 
written  in  chalk  on  a  black-board.' " 

M.  Binet  appears  to  think  that  his  own  are  the  first  observations  of  this 
curious  co-operation  of  the  motor  activity  of  one  phase  of  personality  with 
the  visual  perceptions  of  another.  Were  he  in  the  habit  of  referring  to 
English  works,  he  would  find  the  phenomenon  noted  and  illustrated  in  the 
Society  for  Psychical  Research  Proceedings,  Vol.  III.,  p.  59,  &c,  (in  a  paper 
read  January,  1885),  and  formulated  (as  xx'  +  ss'  +  w'),  among  a  series  of 
kindred  phenomena  there  described. 

An  interesting  variety  in  the  experiment  is  as  follows  :  M.  Binet  desires 
the  subject  to  think  spontaneously  of  a  word.  Meantime  he  makes  her 
anaesthetic  hand  write  a  certain  word  of  his  own  choice.  She  proceeds  to 
utter  that  word,  under  the  impression  that  she  has  spontaneously  thought  of 
it.  The  analogy  here  with  post-hypnotic  suggestion  is  very  marked.  The 
anaesthetic  hand,  like  the  dormant  hypnotic  personality,  makes  a  suggestion 
to  the  primary  personality  which  that  personality  innocently  accepts  as  its 
own  spontaneous  choice. 

Another  experiment  is  curious  from  the  metaphysical  question  which  it 
suggests  as  to  the  distinction  between  pain  and  the  idea  of  pain.  In  the  case 
of  two  hysterics,  when  the  skin  of  the  anaesthetic  arm  is  pinched,  behind  a 
screen,  "  the  patient,  carefully  interrogated,  with  avoidance  of  all  suggestion, 
spontaneously  declares  that  she  has  the  idea  of  a  painful  sensation.  She 
does  not  suffer  from  it,  for  she  is  persuaded  that  she  is  insensible,  but  she 
admits  that  the  idea  of  this  pain  is  disagreeable  to  her.  There  is  thus  a  kind 
of  transformation  of  physical  pain  into  mental  pain,  like  that  which  occurs 
when  one  imagines  or  recalls  to  memory  some  bodily  suffering."  The  pain, 
in  fact,  as  I  have  before  said,  is  recognised  rather  than  felt ;  and  it  is  a  fair 
question  for  metaphysical  argument  whether  that  pain  existed  at  ail. 

The  phenomenon  (as  I  at  least  should  say)  which  is  common  to  these 


204  Binet  On   the   Co7l8CioU8ne88  of  [Supplement, 

and  many  similar  experiments,  is  that  communications  from  one  state  of 
personality  to  another, — what,  for  sheer  lack  of  a  word,  I  have  ventured 
to  call  methectic  communications  (p.  48,  note), — impress  themselves  on  the 
percipient  personality, — just  as  telepathic  communications  do, — by  means  of 
visual  or  auditory  images,  or  obscure  perceptions,  which  may  develop  into 
actual  hallucinations.  The  submerged  personality  is  writing  ;  it  gives  to  the 
emergent  personality  the  hallucination  of  seeing  words  written  in  chalk  on  a 
board.  The  submerged  personality  is  suffering  a  definite  localised  smart ;  it 
gives  to  the  emergent  personality  a  vague  quasi-hallucinatory  idea  of  pain. 

Naturally  it  is  when  visual  images  are  evoked  in  the  emergent  person- 
ality that  these  communications  are  most  distinct.  Nor  is  it  only  so  definite 
a  movement  as  the  writing  of  the  anaesthetic  hand  which  can  get  itself 
represented  in  visual  form.  "With  some  patients,"  says  M.  Binet,  "the 
visual  image  determined  by  the  peripheral  excitation  [of  pinches,  &c.] 
augments  in  intensity  to  the  point  where  it  externalises  itself  as  a  hallucination. 
Thus,  when  one  has  repeatedly  pricked  the  insensible  hand  of  Lav — ,  while 
she  is  occupied  in  reading,  she  presently  sees  the  book  become  covered  with 
little  black  points  which  hide  and  confuse  the  text ;  she  is  obliged  to  give  up 
reading." 

Here  the  annoyance  given  to  the  submerged  personality  was  represented 
to  the  emergent  personality  by  a  hallucinatory  vision,  symbolical  of  the 
points  of  pain.  Compare  Mr.  Gurney's  experiment  {Proceedings  IV.,  p.  319), 
where  the  stress  of  competition  between  the  normal  and  the  hypnotic  per- 
sonalities represented  itself  to  the  hypnotic  personality,  when  emergent  in 
its  turn,  as  a  disturbing  hallucinatory  figure. 

"P — 1  was  told  several  times,  'It  has  left  off  snowing'  ;  and  then, 
when  woke  and  set  to  the  planchette,  he  was  made  to  read  aloud.  The 
writing  which  appeared  was  :  It  has  lfeft  sn — ,  and  while  this  was  proceeding 
the  reading  was  bad  and  stumbling.  .  .  .  Re-hypnotisation  afforded  a 
glimpse  of  the  condition  in  which  the  secondary  intelligence  had  found  itself. 
Asked  what  he  had  been  doing,  the  subject  replied,  '  Trying  to  write,  It  has 
left  off  snowing. '  Asked  if  he  had  been  reading,  he  said,  *  Reading  !  No,  I 
haven't  been  reading,'  and  added,  'Something  seemed  to  disturb  me.' 
How  was  that  ?  *  Something  seemed  to  keep  moving  about  in  front  of  me, 
so  I  got  back  into  bed  again.'  Didn't  Mr.  Gurney  hold  a  book  and  make 
you  read  aloud  ?  *  No,  somebody  kept  moving  about.  I  didn't  like  the  looks 
of  them.  Kept  wandering  to  and  fro.  Horrible,  awful !  I  thought  to  myself, 
I'll  get  into  bed.'" 

And  now,  before  concluding,  let  us  extend  our  area  of  comparison  a  little 
further  yet.  All  these  experiments  of  M.  Binet's  have  been  in  the  well- 
known  SalpStriere  atmosphere.  They  have  all  been  concerned  with  la  malade  ; 
and  it  has  been  taken  for  granted  that  this  dissociation  of  personalities 
through  the  agency  of  local  anaesthesia  could  only  occur  on  diseased 
subjects.  It  has,  of  course,  been  assumed  also — it  would  seem  absurd  to 
question  it, — that  the  ancesthetic  arm  was  necessarily  less  rational,  less 
intelligent,  than  the  primary  personality,  which  had  apparently  the  use  of 
the  head.  Let  us  see  whether  it  is  really  safe  to  make  either  the  one  or  the 
other  assumption. 

In  the   Proceedings  of  the  American  Society  for  Psychical  Research, 


supplement.]  Hysterical  Subjects.  205 

Vol.  I.,  p.  549,  Professor  William  James,  of  Harvard,  who  is  a  physician 
as  well  as  a  psychologist,  cites  the  following  case  from  his  own  observation. 
44  William  L.  Smith,  of  Concord,  Mass.,  student  at  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology,  age  21,  perfectly  healthy  and  exceptionally  intelli- 
gent .  .  .  sat  with  Mr.  Hodgson  and  myself,  January  24th,  1889,  with 
his  right  hand  extended  on  the  instrument  [planchette],  and  his  face  averted 
and  buried  in  the  hollow  of  his  left  arm,  which  lay  along  the  table.  Care 
was  taken  not  to  suggest  to  him  the  aim  of  the  inquiry,  [i.  e. ,  to  test  for 
anaesthesia  induced  in  healthy  subjects  by  the  mere  act  of  automatic  writing.] 

"  The  planchette  began  by  illegible  scrawling.  After  ten  minutes  I 
pricked  the  back  of  the  right  hand  several  times  with  a  pin — no  indication  of 
feeling.  Two  pricks-  on  the  left  hand  were  followed  by  withdrawal,  and  the 
question,  '  What  did  you  do  that  for  ? '  to  which  I  replied,  *  To  find  whether 
you  were  going  to  sleep.1    The  first  legible  words  which  were  written  after 

this  were,  You  hurt  me After  some  more  or  less  illegible  writing,  I 

pricked  the  right  wrist  and  fingers  several  times  again  quite  severely,  with 
no  sign  of  reaction  on  S.'s  part.  After  an  interval,  however,  the  pencil 
wrote  :  Don't  you  prick  me  any  more.  S.  then  said, '  My  right  hand  is  pretty 
well  asleep. '  I  tested  the  two  hands  immediately,  by  pinching  and  pricking, 
but  found  no  difference  between  them,  both  apparently  normal.  S.  then  said 
that  what  he  meant  by  '  asleep '  was  the  feeling  of  *  pins  and  needles/  which 
an  insensible  limb  has  when  '  waking  up.' 

"  The  last  written  sentence  was  then  deciphered  aloud.  S.  laughed, having 
been  conscious  only  of  the  pricks  on  his  left  hand,  and  said,  *  It's  working 
those  two  pin-pricks  for  all  they  are  worth.' 

"I  then  asked  '  What  have  I  been  excited  about  to-day  ? '  May  be  correct, 
\  don't  know,  possibly  sleeping.  'What  do  you  mean  by  sleeping?'  Answer: 
.  I  don't  know.  Yon  [distinct  figure  of  a  pin]  me  nineteen  times  and  think  Til 
"  xcriie  for  you. " 

Thus  we  see  that  local  anaesthesia  was  produced  on  the  hand  of  a  healthy 

subject,  but  apparently  only  just  so  long  as  that  hand  was  writing  the 

messages  of  a  submerged  self.     And  when,  on  a  later  day,  the  pencil  was 

iplaced  in  the  left  hand  instead  of  the  right,  the  left  hand  took  up  the 

(memories  of  the  right  hand's  previous  sufferings. 

|      "  Here,"  says  Professor  James,  "  as  the  reader  will  perceive,  we  have  the 

consciousness  of  a  subject  split  into  two  parts,  one  of  which  expresses  itself 

hrough  the  mouth,  and  the  other  through  the  hand,  whilst  both  are  in 

mmunication  with  the  ear.  The  mouth-consciousness  is  ignorant  of  all  that 

he  hand  suffers  or  does  ;  the  hand-consciousness  is  ignorant  of  pin-pricks 

llicted  upon  other  parts  of  the  body  ;  and  of  what  more  remains  to  be 

rtained.     If  we  call  this  hand-consciousness  the  automatic  consciousness, 

hen  we  also  perceive  that  the  automatic  consciousness  may  transfer  itself 

m  the  right  hand  to  the  left,  and  carry  its  own  peculiar  store  of  memories 

thit." 

Here,  then,  we  have  an  independent  experiment, — dating  from  before  the 

blication  of  M.  Binet's  experiments  above  discussed, — and  exhibiting  in  a 

'  perfectly  healthy  "  subject  exactly  the  phenomena  which  M.  Binet  elicited 

m  his  malades.      Perhaps  those  who  hold   that  automatism  is  always 

ted  with  disease,  will  say  that  here  the  automatism  was  the  sole 


4 


206  Hysterical  Subjects.  [Supplement. 

manifestation  of  a  diseased  tendency  which  revealed  itself  in  no  other  way. 
This  argument,  however,  is  plainly  liable  to  be  reduced  ad  abmrdum  by 
the  continued  production  of  healthy  automatists.  And  after  Mr.  Gurney's 
and  Mr.  Wingfield's  experiments,  there  can,  I  think,  be  no  doubt  that 
healthy  automatists  can  be  produced  in  any  quantity,  if  sufficient  trouble  be 
taken.  But  while  in  France  we  see  well-equipped  physicians  experimenting 
in  eager  rivalry  in  hospitals  teeming  with  hysterics,  we  in  England  have  no 
such  organisation  either  of  researchers  or  of  subjects  for  research.  Instead 
of  summoning  obedient  malades  in  endless  procession,  we  have  to  induce 
healthy  independent  persons  to  lay  their  hands  on  planchettes  which  they 
regard  as  grossly  superstitious,  or  to  hold  pencils  which  they  are  firmly 
persuaded  that  no  automatism  will  ever  stir.  We  must  not  be  surprised  if 
the  French  report  a  dozen  experiments  to  our  one,  until  more  of  us  put  our 
hands  to  the  wheel.  And  now  to  conclude  with  a  case  admittedly  bizarre, 
admittedly  abnormal,  but  which  illustrates  with  even  absurd  unexpectedness 
the  immense  variety  which  these  phenomena  of  dissociated  personality  may 
assume.  The  report,  included  in  Professor  James's  paper  above  cited,  comes 
from  the  late  Dr.  Ira  Barrows,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  and  is  corroborated  by  his 
surviving  partner,  and  by  the  mother  and  brother  of  the  late  patient  herself. 
This  was  a  case  of  hystero-epilepsy,  in  the  course  of  which  the  patient 
'*  complains  of  great  pain  in  right  arm,  more  and  more  intense,  when 
suddenly  it  falls  down  by  her  side.  She  looks  at  it  in  amazement.  Thinks 
it  belongs  to  some  one  else  ;  positive  it  is  not  hers.  .  .  Cut  it,  prick  it, 
do  what  you  please  with  it,  she  takes  no  notice  of  it.  .  .  She  believes  it 
to  be  an  arm  and  a  hand,  but  treats  it  as  if  it  had  intelligence  and  might 
keep  away  from  her.  She  bites  it,  pounds  it,  pricks  it,  and  in  many  ways 
seeks  to  drive  it  from  her.     She  calls  it  *  Stump  ;  Old  Stump."' 

Now  comes  the  odd  part  of  the  story.  This  paralysed  arm,  which  used  to 
write  automatically  on  its  own  account,  in  what  may  now  claim  to  be  the 
orthodox  fashion,  showed  itself  in  one  way  unique  among  all  dissociated  arm- 
personalities.  It  operated,  namely,  as  a  kind  of  guardian  angel  or  Daemon 
of  Socrates ;  it  was  helpful  amid  the  hysteric  turmoil ;  it  was  perfectly 
rational  while  the  unlucky  head  and  trunk  were  raving  in  frenzy. 

"  When  her  delirium  is  at  its  height,  as  well  as  at  all  other  times,  her 
right  hand  is  rational,  asking  and  answering  questions  in  writing  ;  giving 
directions,  trying  to  prevent  her  tearing  her  clothes.  When  she  pulls  out 
her  hair  it  seizes  and  holds  her  left  hand.  When  she  is  asleep  it  carries  on 
conversation  the  same  ;  writes  poetry  ;  never  sleeps  ;  acts  the  part  of  a  nurse 
as  far  as  it  can  ;  pulls  the  bed  clothes  over  the  patient,  if  it  can  reach  them, 
when  uncovered  ;  raps  on  the  head-board  to  awaken  her  mother  (who  always 
sleeps  in  the  room),  if  anything  occurs,  as  spasms,"  &c. 

"  Thy  right  hand,"  said  the  Psalmist,  "  shall  teach  thee  terrible  things." 
He  foresaw  that  the  uncontrollable  impulse,  as  against  the  enemies  of  the 
Lord,  would  outrun  even  the  legitimate  thirst  for  slaughter.  But  it  needed 
a  subtler  psychology  to  teach  us  that  the  right  hand  may  moderate  as  well 
as  madden,  may  control  instead  of  urging  the  violent  unreasoning  blow.  For 
to  the  unsleeping  guardian  within  us  all  paths  of  externalisation  come  alike  ; 
while  yet  all  together  are  all  too  few,  and  glance,  voice,  hand  in  unison  can 
show  but  a  fragment  of  the  Self. 


supplement.]  "Das  Doppel-ich"  207 


V. 

"DAS  DOPPEL-ICH."1 

By  F.  W.  H.  Myers. 


We  are  glad  to  welcome  this  first  publication  of  the  Berlin  Society  for 
Experimental  Psychology,  a  body  whose  aims,  as  our  readers  well  know,  have 
a  close  affinity  with  our  own.     Dr.  Max  Dessoir,  secretary  of  that  society, 
and  author  of  the  tractate  now  to  be  discussed,  is  already  known  to  us  as  the 
compiler  of  an  accurate  and  serviceable  Bibliography  of  Hypnotism  and 
kindred  subjects.     His  present  work,  while  consisting  mainly  of  a  careful  and 
competent  digest  of  French  and  English  experiments  and  theories,  which  have 
received  frequent  discussion  in  these  columns,  gives  evidence  also  of  indepen- 
dent thought  and  philosophical  insight.    It  has  a  special  interest  as  one  of  the 
pioneer  pamphlets  which  begin  to  mark  the  entrance  of  German  science  into 
a  wide  region  of  experimental  psychology  in  which  the  Teutonic  founders  of 
psycho-physiology  have  for  the  moment  been  outstripped  by  French,  and 
perhaps  by  English,  inquiry. 

Merely  indicating  the  lines  of  thought  which  the  earlier  part  of  the 
tractate  pursues,  I  shall  reserve  my  space  mainly  for  certain  reflections 
which  its  conclusion  suggests. 

"  In  the  course  of  ordinary  life" — I  quote  a  passage  (p.  6)  which  gives  the 
keynote  of  much  that  follows — "  certain  actions  occur  which  presuppose  for 
their  origination  all  the  faculties  of  the  human  spirit,  but  which  nevertheless 
work  themselves  out  without  the  knowledge  of  the  agent.     These  actions  we 
term  automatic.     Among  them  are  certain  automatic  movements,  as  the  act 
of  dressing  oneself,  or  of  retracing  a  well-known  path  ;  and  some  other 
automatic  performances,  such  as  counting  one's  steps,  or  adding  up  columns 
of  figures.    These  latter  acts  plainly  indicate  the  existence  of  a  separate 
train  of  memory  employed  upon  them.      And,  moreover,  although  they  take 
place  without  the  agent's  knowledge^  they  cannot  take  place  without  his 
&»ucioii$Hess ;  they  cannot  be  truly  uivconscious  acts.     They  must  in  some 
fashion  belong  to  a  subconsciousness  which,  in  its  relation  to  the  far  more 
potent  upper  consciousness,  may  best  be  understood  if  we  consider  it  as  a 
*nt\dary  consciousness.     And  if  we  regard  Consciousness  and  Memory  as 
the  essential  constituents  of  an  Ego,  we  may  boldly  say  that  every  man  con- 
ceals within  himself  the  germs  of  a  second  personality." 

The  experiments  of  the  Berlin  Society  seem  to  have  thus  far  been  made 
°Q  healthy  subjects  ;  and  Dr.  Dessoir  is  decidedly  opposed  to  the  view  that 
Krenuice  of  personality  is  the  special  characteristic  of  hysteria.   * '  In  dreams, " 

1  Dot  Doppdr-Ichy  von  Max  Dessoir.  (Karl  Siegiftmund,  Berlin.)  This  forms 
titojirst  fascicule  (it  is  numbered  II.,  but  a  subsequent  notice  corrects  this)  of  the 
"Schriften  der  Gesellschaft  fiir  Experimental  Psychologic  zu  Berlin."  A  second 
focicule  has  since  been  published,  containing  two  papers,  by  Professor  Bastian  and 
F.  von  Hellwald. 


f 


208  "Das  Doppd-ich"  [Supplement 

he  says,  p.  13.,  "  in  states  of  intoxication,  in  accesses  of  somnambulism  or  of 
epilepsy,  a  consciousness  distinct  from  the  habitual  consciousness  assumes  the 
sway  ;  and,  moreover,  mnemonic  chains,  more  or  less  coherent,  are  wont  to 
connect  these  isolated  periods  of  abnormality.1  The  secondary  memory  thus 
originated  is  not  always  wholly  shut  off  from  the  primary  train  of  existence, — 
as  it  was  in  Macnish's  patient,  the  American  lady,  —rather  there  is  generally 
some  connection  between  the  two  memories,  as  in  the  case  of  Felida  X.  But 
in  either  case  there  may  be  a  manifest  change  of  character  in  the  transition  to 
the  secondary  self,  so  that  two  personalities2  in  every  way  disparate  may  inhabit 
a  single  body.  In  the  case  of  hysterical  patients  the  dual  Ego  is  much  less 
fully  developed.  But  the  careful  study  of  their  automatic  movements  leads 
to  the  same  conclusion  as  to  the  existence  and  nature  of  a  submerged  con- 
sciousness as  is  suggested  by  the  inward  experience  of  healthy  men." 

A  very  felicitous  experiment  (p.  19)  serves  to  illustrate  the  persistence, 
throughout  healthy  waking  life,  of  a  submerged  consciousness  which  may  at 
any  time  rise  to  the  surface  if  the  hypnotic  state  be  induced. 

"  Several  friends  were  in  my  room,  one  of  whom,  Mr.  W.,  was 
reading  to  himself  while  the  rest'  of  us  were  talking  with  one  another. 
Someone  happening  to  mention  the  name  of  Mr.  X.,  in  whom  Mr.  W.  is 
much  interested,  Mr.  W.  raised  his  head  and  asked  ( What  was  that  about  X  ?' 
He  knew  nothing,  he  told  us,  of  our  previous  conversation  ;  he  had  only 
heard  the  familiar  name,  as  often  happens.  I  then  hypnotised  him,  with 
his  consent,  and  when  he  was  pretty  deeply  entranced,  I  asked  him  again  as 
to  the  conversation.  To  our  great  astonishment,  he  now  repeated  to  us  the 
substance  of  our  whole  conversation  during  the  time  that  he  was  reading  to 
himself.  In  this  case,  then,  there  was  a  perception  of  sensory  impressions, 
but  not  in  the  consciousness  with  which  the  waking  man  worked  ; — rather  in 
another  consciousness  which  found  its  first  opportunity  of  revealing  itself 
in  the  hypnotic  trance. " 

In  this  case,  as  in  some  of  the  experiments  with  crystals  reported  in  the 
last  Part  of  these  Proceedings^^  find  the  unconscious  Self  noting, treasuring, 
and  reproducing  certain  information,  conveyed  indeed  through  the  channel 
of  the  ordinary  senses,  but  so  conveyed  that  it  never  reached  the  emergent  or 
ordinary  consciousness  of  that  same  percipient  in  whose  depths  it  was  all  the 
while  being  registered.  From  this  it  is  an  easy  step  to  the  supposition  that 
the  submerged  consciousness  may  stand  "  im  innigstm  Ziisammeithqng  mit 
dem  K&rper, "  and  that  the  somnambule  may  thus  possess  a  deeper  insight 
into  his  own  organic  processes  than  belongs  to  him  in  the  waking  state. 

"Perhaps,"  continues  Dr.  Dessoir  (p.  31),  "the  secondary  Self 
presides  also  over  those  powers  of  perception  and  action  at  a  distance 
which  only  a  few  observers  have  as  yet  admitted.  In  experiments  on  thought- 
transference  it  is  observable  that  the  percipient  frequently  is  not  conscious  of 
the  transferred  impression,  but  reproduces  it  by  automatic  word  or  drawing  ; 
and  there  is  no  doubt  that  in  certain  subjects  the  receptivity  is  heightened  by 
the  induction    of  the  hypnotic  trance,  or  of  some  analogous  state.     The 

i  (Cf.  SPR.  Proceedings,  Vol.  III.  p.  226.) 
9.  Dr.  Dessoir 's  word  is  Individualitaten.     It  is  to  be  wished  that  a  general  agree - 
ment  could  be  reached  as  to  the  use  of  these  two  words.     The  meaning  of  persona,  a 
tasJt,  suggests  that  personality  should  be  used  for  the  lower  or  less  persistent  unity. 


/ 


soppioMBk]  .  "  Das  Doppd-ich"  209 

hypnotisation  at  a  distance,  moreover,  which  French  savants  have  established 
as  a  fact,  is  best  thus  explained,  by  ascribing  to  the  unconscious  Self  a  far- 
reaching  range  of  perception,  and  a  power  of  developing  an  impression 
telepathically  received  as  freely  as  though  it  had  arrived  by  the  ordinary 
channels  of  sense." 

Dr.  Desfioir,  however,  seems  to  suppose  that  in  experiments  on  thought- 
transference  with  numbers,  the  " number- habit"  constitutes  a  risk  of  error 
difficult  to  exclude.     Perhaps  a  few  words  on  this  subject  may  here  be  in 
place  ;  since  the  number-habit  seems  sometimes  to  be  regarded  as  more  of  a 
mystery,  and  sometimes  as  more  of  a  discovery,  than  it  is  in  fact.     Every 
psychical  act  or  incident  of  any  kind, — perception,  image,  choice,   motor 
impulse,  or  what  you  will, — is  an  extremely  complex  thing.     It  is  the  result 
of  the  co-operation  of  a  great  number  of  nervous  elements,  which  cannot 
possibly  work  in  exactly  the  same  way  in  any  two  persons,  or  even  for  the  same 
person  at  different  times.     In  the  first  place,  for  each  of  these  complex  acts 
there  will  be  a  limit  of  attainment  beyond  which  each  person  cannot  go ;  as  each 
man  is  found  to  have  his  "  personal  equation  "  when  the  object  is  to  observe 
as  promptly  as  possible  the  transit  of  a  star.     In  the  second  place,  whenever 
a  choice  between  acts  at  all  dissimilar  has  to  be  made,  there  will  be  a  path  of 
least  resistance  common  either  to  all  mankind,  or  to  some  special  section  of 
mankind.     Thus  it  is  easier  to  read  the  letter  W  than  the  letter  E,  &c. 
A.  great  variety  of  such  experiments  have  been  made ;  and  we  may  safely 
say  that  even  between  such  small  efforts  as  the  reading,  writing,  uttering, 
or  mentally  picturing   any  given  Arabic  numerals  there   must  be  some 
difference  in  the  effort  required  ;  and  consequently  some  general  number- 
habit  which  indicates  what  is  the  path  of  least  resistance  for  the  majority  of 
men.    But  where  the  difference  of  effort  is  bo  slight,  the  general  or  popular 
number-habit  will  be  very  weak,  and  it  may  easily  be  over-borne  in  any 
given  man  by  some  idiosyncratic  preference.     For  in  the  third  place, — and 
this  perhaps  has  not  always  been  clearly  seen,—  there  is  liable  to  exist  in 
each  man  an  idiosyncratic  preference  for  one  of  two  efforts  demonstrably 
equivalent, — such  idiosyncratic  preference  depending  on  some   asymmetry 
in  his  own  mental  images.     Let  there  be  two   hazards  at  billiards  which 
*re  mathematically  of  identical  difficulty,  the  object-ball  needing  to  be  struck 
within  the  same  limits  of  accuracy  in  each  case,  although  in  slightly  differing 
^7*,— and  you  will  find  A  choosing  one  hazard  and  B  the  other,  not  at 
random,  but  in  accordance  with  some  asymmetry  in  their  respective  mental 
pictures  of  table,  balls,  and  probable  results  of  impact.     And   of  course 
tiu*  idiosyncratic    preference— depending    perhaps    originally    on    some 
Hfcqmlity  of  early  experience — will  tend  to  intensify  itself,  if  yielded  to, 
tBrtQ  a  real  muscular  preference  is  superadded  to   the  preference    based 
upon  mere  conceptual  asymmetry. 

There  is  no  choice,  I  say,  however  simple  or  arbitrary — not  even  the 
choice  between  heads  and  tails  or  odd  and  even — which  the  human  mind  can 
he  trusted  to  make  as  impartially  as  the  spun  penny  or  the  roulette-ball 
would  make  it. 

There  will  presumably  therefore  be  idiosyncratic  number-habits, 
u  well  as  general  number-habits,  and  although  these  are  not  likely  to 
become  strong  without  being  observed,  still  less  to  become  so  potent  as  to 


210  "Dots  Doppd-ich."  [Supplemei 

explain  coincidences  in  double-numbers  thought  of  by  two  separate  minds, 
is  undoubtedly  proper  to  eliminate  this  possible  source  of  error  from  expei 
ments  in  thought-transference.  We  have  made  it  a  rule,  since  our  first  fe 
experiments,  to  replace  numbers  in  a  bag,  or  cards  in  the  pack,  and  shufl 
between  each  trial,  and  draw  at  random  ;  as  described,  for  instance,  i 
Phantasms  of  the  Living,  Vol.  I.,  p.  34 ;  Vol.  II.,  p.  653.  * 

A  moment's  thought  will  show,  however,  that  if  we  thus  annihilate  tl 
influence  of  the  number-habit  in  the  agent,  or  person  who  offers  the  numbei 
for  thought-transference,  the  existence  of  a  number- habit  in  the  percipien 
or  person  who  guesses  the  numbers,  will  in  no  way  diminish,  but  may  possibl 
even  improve,  the  evidential  value  of  any  excess  of  coincidences  between  tl 
numbers  offered  and  the  numbers  guessed. *  Suppose,  to  take  an  extren: 
case,  that  the  percipient's  number-habit  were  so  strong  that  he  alwaj 
guessed  a  3,  then  if  he  deserted  his  3  and  guessed  a  5  just  when  the  agei 
thought  of  5  the  coincidence  would  be  much  more  striking  than  if  he  ha 
had  no  number-preference  of  his  own  to  overcome.  Of  course,  in  practic 
there  are  no  such  gross  effects  as  this  ;  and  for  evidential  purposes  we  ma 
simply  neglect  the  percipient's  number-habit  if  we  take  care  to  neutralii 
the  agent's  number-habit  or  card-habit  by  making  him  draw  his  cards  or  h 
numbers  at  random. 

From  this  topic  -  on  which  Dr.  Dessoir  touches  rather  by  the  way — I  pai 
on  to  a  more  complex  problem.  Recognising  our  personality  as  no  single  < 
simple  thing,  arc  we  to  regard  it  as  potentially  multiplex,  or  duplex  only  ? : 

"  While  there  are  abundant  examples,"  says  Dr.  Dessoir  (p.  26)  "of 
double  consciousness,  in  the  waking  life,  the  dreams,  and  the  abnormal  stat< 
of  every  one  of  us,  we  find,  on  the  other  hand, that  very  few  observers  ent* 
the  lists  in  defence  of  the  multiplicity  of  the  Ego.  A  mere  triplicity,  indee< 
would  not  suffice.  Were  we  to  discover,  in  some  subject,  with  a  third  coi 
dition  like  Madame  B.  's,  that  there  were  still  intelligent  acts  which  accou 
plished  themselves  below  the  level  of  that  third  consciousness,  we  shoul 
then  strike  down  on  a  yet  deeper  layer  of  consciousness,  and  so  on  a 
infinitum.  We  should  arrive  at  a  kind  of  onion-structure  of  the  Soul  !  Bv 
since  the  facts  are  there,  and  refuse  to  be  explained  away  by  the  facil 
hypothesis  of  suggestion,  we  shall  need  the  most  patient  psychological  analysi 
to  bring  us  to  our  goal.  In  the  present  position  of  our  knowledge  I  thin 
that  the  wisest  course  is  to  suspend  our  judgment,  and  to  be  satisfied  wit 
the  provisional  hypothesis  that  in  certain  cases  a  further  division  of  th 
secondary  Self  has  been  established.     That  a  consciousness  deeper  than   th 

1  T  mention  this  l>ecaus»e  Professor  C.  S.  Minot  has  animadverted  in  the  America 
Society  for  Psychical  Research  Proceedings  on  our  early  omission  (rectified  longbefoi 
his  article  appeared)  to  take  this  precaution.  See  American  S.P.R.  Proceeding, 
Part  IV.,  for  his  criticism  and  Mr.  Hodgson's  reply. 

2  Professor  Minot  hardly  seems  to  have  caught  this  point.  "The  two  minds, 
he  says  (American  /V'wW/ww.Vol  I.,  p.  86),  "were  working  differently,  eachaccorc 
ing  to  its  own  habits;  hence  it  is  extremely  improbable  that  the  excess  of  right  guessc 
was  due  to  anything  but  chance  coincidence."  In  reality,  the  habit  of  the  percipient 
mind,  if  different,  as  here  stated,  from  the  agent's  habit,  would  not  diminish,  but  ii 
crease,  the  evidential  value  of  the  coincidences. 

3  On  this  ]x>int  see  Mr.  Bark  worth's  letters  in  the  S.P.R.  Journal,  March  an 
April,  1S8V. 


Supplement.]  "  D(L8  Doppd-icfl."  211 

hypnotic  can  be  artificially  created  is  shown  by  the  well-known  negative 
hallucinations  of  hypnotised  subjects  [where  certain  objects  are  kept  out  of  the 
hypnotic  consciousness  by  some  still  subjacent  intelligence].  But  for  the 
formation  of  a  new  personality  we  need  a  new  mnemonic  chain  [as  well  as  a 
new  consciousness], — and  this  seems  seldom  to  be  found  in  existence/1 

I  do  not  disagree  with  this  ;  but  I  think  that  we  may  probe  the  matter 
still  deeper.  It  is  not  by  a  mere  counting  of  heads  (to  use  a  somewhat 
inappropriate  metaphor)  that  we  must  decide  the  question  as  to  how  many 
potential  personalities  we  carry  within  us.  "Man  never  knows  how 
anthropomorphic  he  is " ;  and  we  have  still  to  guard  against  anthropo- 
morphism even  while  we  are  frankly  contemplating  ourselves  in  a  state  of 
segmentation.  I  mean  that  we  must  not  let  the  unavoidable  use  of  the 
word  "  personality  "  deceive  us  into  supposing  that  any  separate  conscious- 
ness, any  distinct  chain  of  memory  which  rises  within  us  must  necessarily 
form  a  constituent  of  a  secondary  personality  of  somewhat  the  same  scope 
and  stature  as  the  first.  What  seems  really  to  happen  is  something  far  more 
complex  than  a  mere  fission  into  two  personalities, — the  second  as  good  as 
the  first,  or  better.  There  is  no  persistent  plane  of  cleavage ;  we  split 
asymmetrically ;  and  the  new  personalities  thus  formed  are  by  no  means 
necessarily  homologous  with  the  old.  There  is  every  gradation  from  a 
secondary  state  like  Felida  X.'s,  more  stable  than  the  primary,  to  the  week- 
long  or  hour-long  "controls "  which  sway  the  hand  and  sign  the  messages  of 
the  graphic  automatist. 

Or  take  the  class  of  cases  mentioned  by  Dr.  Dessoir  himself.  The  hypno- 
tised A  is  told  that  B  has  left  the  room  ;  and,  consequently,  cannot  see  B.  ; 
— i.e.  (as  has  been  amply  shown  by  Liegeois  and  others),  he  does  physically 
see  B,  but  he  receives  a  constant,  watchful,  dominating  suggestion  from 
somewhat  within  him  that  B  cannot  be  seen.     This  is  what  they  call  at  the 
Salpetriere,  a  " systematised  anaesthesia."    The  name  is  good;  but  who 
systematises  the  anaesthesia  ?    What  intelligence  is  it  which  thus  prevents  A 
from  "  psychically  seeing  "  B,  who  is  standing  in  the  room  before  his  eyes  ? 
The  suggestion  must  come,  as  Dr.  Dessoir  justly  suggests,  from  a  still  subjacent 
consciousness.     But  where,  he  inquires,  is  the  chain  of  memory  belonging  to 
that  consciousness,  and  needed  to  complete  a  subjacent  personality — if  such 
personality  could  exist  ?    In  answer,  I  would  say  that  I  believe  that  by  pro- 
per artifices  that  third  inhibitory  personality  could  be  tracked  in  other 
moments  of  the  subject's  life.     But  waiving  this  point,  I  will  suppose  that 
the  hypothetical  third  personality  comes  into  being  with  the  experiment  and 
'^aiahes  at  its  close.     Well,  at  any  rate,  it  has  existed  during  the  experi- 
ment ;  it  has  fulfilled  a  task  which  needed  memory,  or  at  any  rate  continuous 
attention,  prolonged  over  an  hour.     And  what  hard  and  fast  rule  can  we 
njake  as  to   the  necessary  length  of   a   chain    of    memory  which    is    to 
constitute  a  personality?    Must  it  last  all  life  long?    Then,    if  a  man's 
town  is  destined  to  soften    next  year,   he  is  not  a    personality  to-day. 
Or,  Again,  with  what  definiteness  of    exclusion   need    the   new   memory 
be  shut  off  from  the  old  ?    It  sometimes  happens,  as  Delboeuf  and  others 
have  shown,  that   a   subject  who    on   waking    from  the   hypnotic  trance 
remembers  nothing  can  be  led  by  artifice  to  recollect  all  that  he  has  done. 
Is  his  hypnotic  personality  annulled  when  this  fusion  of  memories  is  effecW 


212  "D<X8  Doppel-ich"  [SnppUmen 

I  have  said  that  there  is  no  persistent  plane  of  cleavage  to  which  we  ca 
point  as  separating  two  or  more  personalities  within  us.  But,  of  course,  thei 
are  certain  planes  of  cleavage  within  us  which  (as  Hughlings-Jackson  ha 
shown)  we  can  in  imagination  distinguish  with  fruitful  results.  We  can  cox 
ceive  of  our  nervous  system  as  consisting  of  three  strata,  or  three  levels  c 
evolution,  and  we  can  trace  in  dissolutive  processes  the  results  of  the  cessatio 
of  the  activity  of  one  stratum  after  another.1  But  this  is  not  the  kind  of  clea\ 
age  which  will  make  a  fresh  personality.  For  that  purpose  the  cleavage  mm 
not  be  horizontal,  but  to  some  extent  at  least  vertical ;  that  is  to  say,  thf 
each  personality  must  include  a  certain  amount  of  work  done  by  the  highef 
centres  of  all ;—  as  well  as  much  work  done  by  the  middle  centres,  and  a 
the  work  done  by  the  lowest  centres, — as  heart-action  and  vegetati\ 
processes. 

The  lowest  centres,  I  say,  must  go  on  working  throughout  every  chang 
of  personality,  or  the  machine  will  stop  altogether.  The  middle  centres- 
sensory  and  motor  arrangements — may  divide  their  activities  between  seven 
personalities,  as  in  the  hysterical  cases  which  Messrs.  Binet  and  Jan< 
discuss.  We  can,  to  a  great  extent,  trace  their  lines  of  division,  and  we  ca 
draw  our  schemes  of  personalities,  each  possessing  such  and  sue 
sensory  activities,  motor  activities,  &c.  But  when  we  come  to  tt 
higher  centres  the  difficulty  is  much  greater.  We  do  not  know  whi 
proportion  of  activities  of  higher  centres  is  needful  to  constitute  a  ne 
chain  of  memory,  a  separate  consciousness.  And,  moreover,  it  is  by  i 
means  clear  that  the  centres  which  for  our  waking  life  are  the  highest  ai 
also  the  highest  or  ruling  centres  for  some  of  these  secondary  states.  Dr.  De 
soir  seems  to  me  to  discern  this  fact,  but  not  fully  to  apprehend  its  bearing  c 
the  ultimate  question  as  to  what  is  the  deepest  or  original  form  of  our  Ego.  E 
traces,  in  language  to  which  wo  may  fully  assent,  the  rise  of  our  personalit; 
as  now  known,  from  the  combination  of  the  elementary  or  segmental  egos  < 
which  our  "  colonial  "  ancestors  were  composed. 

"If  then  the  perfection  of  the  animal  organisation  consists  in  this  ;- 
that  from  an  original  multiplicity  of  groups  the  individual  is  developed  ; — n 
are  entitled  to  regard  the  lower  nerve-centres  in  men  as  vestiges  of  an  earlii 
system  of  consciousness.  Little  of  the  work  done  in  those  centres  now  arrivi 
at  complete  consciousness  ;  and  thence  we  may  infer  that  the  efficacy  of  tl 
mechanism  is  synonymous  with  its  automatism.  And  if  herewith  we  compai 
the  fact  of  common  experience,  that  every  psychical  activity  becomes  uncoi 
scious  in  proportion  as  it  is  fully  developed—  as  reading  passes  from  spellix 
to  the  glance  over  whole  sentences  at  a  time — we  shall  have  to  considi 
[normal  or  waking]  *  consciousness '  as  the  subjective  expression  of  tl 
work  of  acquisition  which  the  mind  is  carrying  on,  as  the  accompanyii 
indication  of  an  incomplete  co-ordination  of  nerve -pathways,  or,  in  strict 
psychological  language,  as  the  defect  of  habit. " 

Regarded  either  from  the  psychical  or  from  the  physical  side,  our  highe 
waking  consciousness  represents  unstable  equilibria,  processes  maintains 
with    difficulty,  the  rcXcvrmoi/  jmytpvrjpa  of    many  complex  combination 

1  See   Dr.    Hughlings-Jackflon's   Remarks   on  Evolution   and  Dissolution  qf  i 
JVervous  System,  p.  12,  &c.    (London :  John  Bate  and  Sons.    1888. ) 


sappioncBi.)  "Das  Doppd-ich"  213 

As  Dr.  Hughlings-Jackson  has  said1 :  ' '  There  is  no  autocratic  mind 
sitting  at  the  top  to  receive  sensations  as  a  sort  of  raw  material,  out 
of  which  to  manufacture  ideas,  &c.,  and  then  to  associate  these  ideas. 
Answering  to  the  constitution  (mainly  inherited)  of  the  anatomical 
substrata  of  subject-consciousness,  ideas  rise  up  combined,  in  association, 
<&c.,  and  coming  out  of  subject-consciousness  they  then  constitute  the  object- 
consciousness  of  the  moment.  .  .  .  There  are  different  degrees  of  fixity 
of  nervous  arrangements,  from  those  strongly  organised,  very  automatic, 
and  comparatively  settled  and  unalterable,  up  to  those  now  making  (nerve- 
stuff  being  for  the  first  time  traversed  by  nerve-currents  developed  by  the 
more  and  earlier  organised  nervous  arrangements)  ;  those  nmc  making  will 
be,  of  course,  least  organised,  least  automatic,  and  capable  of  most  modifica- 
tion. The  order  from  most  strongly  organised  to  least  organised  is  the 
order  from  lowest  towards  highest  layers  of  the  highest  centres.  .  .  .  Many  of 
the  new  recently-made  nervous  arrangements  will  be  evanescent;  I  mean  that 
they  will  soon  cease  to  be  even  the  *  potential '  nervous  arrangements  I  spoke 
of.  I  suppose  that  one  of  the  uses  of  sleep  is  to  sweep  the  higher  layers  of 
the  highest  centres  clean  of  many  such  nervous  arrangements." 

Now  I  maintain  that  the  sub- conscious  Self,  on  the  other  hand,  does  not 

attain  manifestation  through  these  recent  and  unstable  nervous  arrangements. 

Its  emergence  does    not    seem  to    depend   upon    its    securing    a    larger 

share  of  the  highest  nervous  activities  of  the  conscious  self.     It  attains 

its  development — advances  to  the    exercise   of    its  characteristic    powers 

— in  a  different  way.     It  advances,  not  by  passing  into  a  phase  of  mental 

stress  and  friction,  such  as  that  which  corresponds  to  the  most  complex 

waking  thought,  but  by  an  apparently  effortless  improvement  in  the  veri- 

dicality  of  its  characteristic  hallucinatory  content.     It  begins — not  to  rack  its 

brains  for  arguments — but  placidly  to  image  forth  no  longer  false  things,  but 

true.    And  this  (as  I  have  often  said)  I  believe  to  hold  good  both  for  the 

subject's  own  creative  power  or   "genius,"  and  for  the  influences  tele- 

pathically  transmitted  to  him  from  other  minds.     So  far  as  the  creations  of 

genius  are  concerned,  I  can  adopt  Dr.  Dessoir's  statement. 

"The  new  Psychology, " he  says  (p.  37),  "  has  convincingly  demonstrated 
that  in  every  conception  and  every  idea,  an  image  or  a  group  of  images  must 
be  present.     But  since  these  images,  like  the  original  perceptions  of  which 
they  are  the  recrudescence, are  always  endeavouring  to  externalise  themselves, 
they  would  always  eventuate  in  actual  hallucination,  did  not  the  competition 
of  other  memory-pictures  and  of  new  sensations  hinder  their  development. 
When  these  checks  are  removed, — as  in  sleep,  the  hypnotic  trance,  and  cer- 
tain pathological  states, — the  hallucinatory  germ  can  unfold  itself  freely  ; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  in  ordinary  waking  thought  we  have  to  deal  with  a 
succession  of  uncompleted  hallucinations.  That  state  which  is  usually  taken 
to  be  fundamental  in  us  is  in  effect  the  suppression  of  our  natural  tendencies  ; 
and  hallucination — commonly  regarded  as  a  merely  morbid  phenomenon — 
represents,  at  least  in  its  nascent  condition,  the  main  trunk  of  our  psychical 
existence.     The  fully-conscious  life  of  the  spirit  seems  to  rest  upon  a  sub- 
stratum of  reflex  action  of  a  hallucinatory  type.  .  .  It  is  only  when  Imagina- 

1  Op,  cU.  pp.  9, 10,  text  and  note. 


-14  "  Das  Doppel-icti. 

tion  is  comprehended  as  a  function  of  the  secondary  Self,  and  Hallucination, 
Inspiration,  Change  of  Personality,  are  understood  as  projections  from  within 
outwards,  with  more  or  less  of  sensory  clothing,  — manifestations,  in  short, 
of  that  externalising  process  which  is  always  at  work  within  us  ; — it  is  only 
then,  I  say,  that  the  creative  imagination  of  the  artist  is  understood  and 
traced  to  its  root." 

With  all  this  I  concur,  and  I  have  urged  elsewhere  that  the  truest  way  of 
regarding  hallucinations  is  to  consider  them  as  messages  addressed  by  a  sub- 
merged to  an  emergent  stratum  of  the  personality.  These  messages  may  be 
true  or  false,  meaningless  or  of  weighty  import,  according  to  the  stratum  of 
the  personality  from  which  they  rise.  But  messages  from  the  sub-conscious, 
of  one  sort  or  another,  they  are;  and  for  that  reason  alone  they  would  deserve 
our  most  careful  analysis.  Note,  moreover,  as  an  indication  of  the  way  in 
which  the  unconscious  Self  works,  that  whereas  hallucinations — visual 
hallucinations  in  particular — often  represent  the  highest  creative  power  to 
which  the  percipient's  mind  ever  attains,  they  are  developed,  nevertheless, 
without  his  conscious  effort,  and  as  though  by  the  mere  act  of  releasing 
somewhat  that  was  already  formed  within.  They  come  to  us  unexpected, 
confusing,  enigmatic  ;  but  as  with  the  golden  figures  on  Achilles'  shield,  the 
hidden  Power  which  forged  them  was  master  of  its  art  indeed  : — 

Trotei  daidaXa  woXXA  loviji<ri  wpairidccrcro'. 

And  thus  we  come  to  the  question  of  the  relative  dignity,  the  relative 
reality  of  the  emergent  and  the  fundamental  Self.  "  From  the  foregoing 
discussions,"  says  Dr.  Dessoir,  "it  might  perhaps  appear  as  though  the 
dominance  of  the  sub-conscious  indicated  a  higher  condition  of  spiritual 
activity.  That  is  by  no  means  the  case.  Such  dominance  can  indeed  give 
facility  for  the  highest  creative  production,  but  without  itself  representing 
a  high  psychical  level.  It  is  man's  original  condition,  no  doubt,  but  so  also 
is  it  his  most  primitive  condition;  it  works  in  the  completest  manner,  but 
not  in  the  manner  most  in  harmony  with  Reality  and  the  End  of  Life." 

Now,  if  (lenius  and  Ecstacy  (as  has  been  here  implied)  belong  to  the  realm 
of  the  Sub-conscious,  then  I  say  that  you  must  first  tell  us  what  is  Reality, 
and  what  is  the  End  of  Life,  before  we  decide  whether  Genius  and  Ecstacy  are 
out  of  harmony  with  these.  What  is  undoubtedly  true  is  that  our  waking- 
emergent  personality  is  that  which  is  best  suited  to  carry  on  the  struggle  for 
existence.  Itself,  as  I  believe,  the  result  of  natural  selection,  it  inevitably 
represents  that  aspect  of  our  being  which  can  best  help  us  to  overrun  the 
earth.  More  than  this  we  cannot  say.  If,  as  we  got  deeper  down,  we  come 
on  ever  more  definite  indications  of  powers  and  tendencies  within  ourselves 
which  are  not  such  as  natural  selection  could  have  been  expected  to  develop, 
then  we  may  begin  to  wonder  on  wluit  it  was  that  the  terrene  process  of 
natural  selection,  as  we  have  it,  began  at  the  first  to  exercise  modifying 
power.  To  such  a  question  no  answer  whatever  can  be  given  which  is  not  in 
some  sense  mystical,  or  rather  metempirical,  as  dealing  with  hypotheses 
which  no  experience  of  ours  can  tost.  But  it  should  be  understood  that 
there  is  no  metaphysical,  no  physiological  answer  in  possession  of  the  field  ; 
the  competition  is  open,  the  course  is  clear.  In  the  present  disintegration, 
as  it  may  be  called,  both  of  the  metaphysical  and  of  the  physiological  con- 
coption   of    man's    being,   Dr.   Dessoir  urges  the  loss  sustained    on    the 


Supplement.]  "  Dd8  Doppel-ich."  215 

metaphysical  aide.  "Many  facts,"  he  says  (p.  40),  "which  Philosophy  is 
wont  to  adduce  as  proofs  of  the  existence  of  an  immortal  soul,  may  be  equally 
well  explained  by  the  existence  of  an  empirical  secondary  Self  ;  and  to  this 
Self  must  Occultism  transfer  the  supersensory  faculties  of  man. "  So  be  it ; 
to  the  secondary,  to  the  submerged  Self  must,  not  decaying  Occultism,  but 
advancing  Science  refer  whatsoever  faculties  are  not  accounted  for  by  what 
we  call  normal  development,  terrene  and  traceable  evolution. 

But  the  question  of  origin  will  still  remain  ;  and  it  is  not  really  a 
hypothesis  wilder  than  another  if  we  suppose  it  possible  that  that  portion 
of  the  cosmic  energy  which  operates  through  the  organism  of  each  one  of  us 
was  in  some  sense  individualised  before  its  descent  into  generation,  and 
pours  the  potentialities  of  larger  being  into  the  earthen  vessels  which  it 
fills  and  overflows. 

On  points  like  these  all  that  anyone  can  fairly  claim  is  that  the  one 
speculative  opinion  should  be  accorded  as  full  a  right  of  existence  as  the 
other.  And — to  take  leave  at  length  of  our  author — there  is  no  lack  of 
fairness  or  candour  in  Dr.  Dessoir's  statement  of  opinions  not  his  own. 
Agreeing  with  him  as  I  do  for  the  most  part,  I  feel  in  disagreement  as 
fully  as  in  agreement  the  value,  along  all  our  range  of  inquiry,  of  so 
capable  and  painstaking  a  fellow- worker. 


216  Dr.  Jvlee  Janet  on  Hysteria  and         [gopptannt. 


VI. 

DR.   JULES  JANET  ON  HYSTERIA  AND  DOUBLE 

PERSONALITY. 
By  F.  W.  H.  Myers. 


* ( L'Hyst&rie  et  VHypnotisme,d'aprk  la  TMmvt  de  la  Double  PerwnnaliU, "  is 
the  title  of  a  paper  published  by  Dr.  Jules  Janet — brother  of  Prof. 
Pierre  Janet,  and  nephew  of  the  well-known  Prof.  Paul  Janet, — in  the  Revue 
Scieiitifique,  May  19th,  1888. 

Though  brief,  the  paper  is  remarkable  from  several  points  of  view.  In  the 
first  place,  it  shows  by  a  striking  example  how  far  we  are  from  having 
exhausted  the  possibilities  of  hypnotism, — even  as  applied  to  a  subject  who 
has  been  for  years  the  object  of  hypnotic  treatment.  And  in  the  second 
place,  it  affords  a  strong  confirmation  to  the  old  view  on  which  EUiotaon  and 
his  group  insisted, — and  which  one  or  two  writers  in  these  Proceeduigs  were 
for  some  years  practically  alone  in  supporting, — that  there  is  something  in 
the  effect  of  "  mesmeric  passes  "  which  is  specifically  different  from  the 
effect  of  Braidian  or  other  forms  of  stimulation. 

Blanche  Witt-  is  one  of  the  best  known  personalities— or  groups  of 
personalities — in  Paris.  A  hystero-epileptic  of  the  most  pronounced  type, 
she  has  never  been  able  for  long  together  to  meet  the  stresses  of  ordinary 
life.  She  has  long  been  an  inmate  of  the  Salpetriere  ;  and  some  of  my 
readers  may  have  seen  her  exhibited  there,  at  Prof.  Charcot's  lectures,  or 
by  the  kindness  of  Dr.  F£re*  or  other  physicians,  as  the  type — I  may 
almost  say  the  prototype — of  the  celebrated  "  three  stages  "  of  lethargy, 
catalepsy,  and  somnambulism,  of  which  she  realised  every  characteristic 
detail  with  marvellous  precision.  Arrived  at  somnambulism,  her  state  could 
be  no  further  changed  by  the  various  means  employed, — closing  or  opening 
the  eyes,  rubbing  the  top  of  the  head,  startling  with  lights  or  sounds,  &c — 
and  she  was  led  back  to  waking  life  through  the  stages  in  inverse  order. 

She  was  treated,  it  is  needless  to  say,  with  great  care  and  kindness  ; 
and  her  hysterical  "  crises  "  were  frequently  averted  by  hypnotic  suggestion. 
But  in  spite  of  all  the  skill  and  experience  brought  to  bear  on  her  case,  no 
one  succeeded  in  removing, — except  for  a  few  minutes  at  a  time  by  the  action 
of  gold,  magnets,  or  electricity, — the  various  permanent  "  tares"  or  defects 
of  sensibility,  which  signalised  her  deep-seated  hysterical  trouble. 

In  all  her  states  she  was  without  feeling  of  contact,  feeling  of  position, 
or  feeling  of  pain.  When  her  eyes  were  closed  (in  the  waking  state,)  she 
could  not  stand  upright,  nor  close  her  hands  completely,  nor  hold  a  heavy 
object.  She  could  not  hear  with  the  left  ear,  nor  see  colours  with  the  left 
eye,  whose  visual  field,  moreover,  was  greatly  restricted. 

Such  was  her  condition  when  she  came  under  Dr.  Dumontpallier's  charge 
at  another  hospital, — the  Hotel  Dieu, — and  was  hypnotised  by  M.  Jules  Janet. 
She  passed  as  usual  through  the  three  4<  classical  "  stages.     But  M.  Janet, — 


sappfament.]  Double  Personality.  217 

without,  as  I  understand,  any  preconceived  theory  as  to  the  result, — 

determined  to  try  what  a  prolongation  of  passes  would  effect.     Instead  of 

opening  the  subject's  eyes  in  the  lethargic  stage, — the  regular  method  for 

inducing  the  cataleptic  stage, —  he  continued  to  make  passes,  and  presently 

found  that  she  passed  into  an  absolutely  inert  state, — "  the  deep  state  "  of 

our  English  experiments,  in  which  no  muscular  contraction  could  be  obtained 

by  pressure,  nor  did  opening  of  the  eyes  induce  catalepsy.     After  some 

futher  passes  the  subject  re-awakened  into  what  seemed  at  first  sight  simply 

a  more  alert  somnambulism  than  ever  before. 

But  on  examining  this  new  condition  it  was  found  to  be  no  mere  slight 
modification  of  states  previously  obtained,  but  a  state  reconstructed,  so  to 
ay,  from  top  to  bottom.  In  the  first  place,  Blanche  Witt-  was  now 
perfectly  possessed  of  the  senses  of  touch,— capable  of  perceiving  contact, 
position,  heat,  and  pain.  She  could  now  close  her  hands  perfectly,  and 
compress  the  dynamometer  with  normal  power.  She  heard  perfectly  with  her 
left  ear,  previously  deaf,  and  saw  normally  with  both  eyes.  It  was  no 
longer  possible  to  inspire  in  her  any  hallucination.  In  one  point  alone  did 
the  differ  from  a  normal  person  ;  namely  in  her  excessive  declivity,  or 
determination  to  attend  to  her  hypnotiser  alone,  although  she  was  perfectly 
capable  of  hearing  and  talking  to  other  people. 

In  this  second  state,  "  Blanche  2  " — as  the  reader  will  doubtless  expect — 
bad  a  full  remembrance  of  the  life  of  "  Blanche  1,"  while  Blanche  1  knew 
nothing  of  Blanche  2.  A  further  point  of  interest  was  the  determination  of 
the  true  position  of  the  "  three  classical  stages  "  in  Blanche's  personality. 
It  was  found  that  when  she  was  in  her  first  or  ordinary  somnambulism  her 
memory  extended  over  the  fully-developed  state  of  Blanche  2, — so  that  we 
may  consider  the  "  three  classical  stages  "  as  incomplete  manifestations  of 
Blanche  2,  who  had  never  till  now  been  able  to  come  fully  to  the  front. 

Furthermore, —  as  the  reader  either  of  Mr.  Gurney's  or  of  Prof.  Pierre 
Janet's  experiments  will  expect, — it  was  not  difficult  to  show  that  Blanche  2 
really  existed  throughout  the  whole  life  of  Blanche  1.  If  colours  were 
shown  to  Blanche  1  (with  her  right  eye  blinded)  and  she  failed  to  distinguish 
them,  Blanche  2  nevertheless  saw  them  perfectly, — with  the  same  eye  and 
»t  the  same  moment, — and,  when  summoned,  could  describe  what  she  had 
seen.  Or  if  Blanche  1  were  pinched  or  pricked,  to  demonstrate  her  insensi- 
bility, Blanche  2  felt  everything,  and,  when  summoned,  began  to  complain. 
It  is  strange  to  reflect  for  how  many  years  the  dumbly-raging  Blanche  2  has 
thus  assisted  at  experiments  to  which  Blanche  1  submitted  with  easy 
complaisance.  It  reminds  one  of  the  difficulty  of  pleasing  both  personalities 
at  a  time  which  is  sometimes  found  when  it  is  a  question  in  which  state  to 
feed  a  hypnotised  subject.  There  is  an  old  case  in  the  Zoist  where  a  young 
woman  used  to  insist  so  strongly  in  the  hypnotic  state  that  then  was  the  time 
to  give  her  her  dinner,  that  the  kind  doctors  consented.     But  when  she 

awoke  and  saw  the  empty  plate,  she  would  burst  into  tears. 
Once  more,  it  appeared  that  the  chloroformed  condition,  and  in  some 

sense  normal  sleep  itself,  belonged  to  Blanche  2  rather  than  to  Blanche  1. 

Blanche  2  could  remember  what  had  happened  during  the  chloroformic 

trance,  and  could  recount  ordinary  dreams  of  which  Blanche  1    had  no 

knowledge. 


218  Dr.  Jules  Janet  on  Hysteria  and         [Supplement 

On  the  whole,  then,  we  may  say  that  Blanche  2  represents — not,  indeed, 
the  complete  personality,  for  that  is  never  represented  by  any  state  of  any  of 
us, — but  at  least  a  pretty  complete  group  or  co-ordination  of  the  various 
elements  which  go  to  make  up  a  normal  human  being.  Blanche  1,  on  the 
other  hand, is  scantily  supplied  with  these  elements  ;  she  has  only  just  enough 
to  get  on  with  ; — namely,  motility,  speech,  vision  of  one  eye  and  hearing  of 
one  ear.  Blanche  2  adds  to  these  vision  of  the  other  eye,  hearing  of  the 
other  ear,  and  general  and  muscular  sensibility.  And  M.  Janet  urges  that 
we  may  regard  this  incomplete  endowment  of  the  primary  personality, 
(primary  here  only  in  the  sense  that  it  is  the  habitual  one),  as  the  differentia 
of  hysteria. 

"  In  short,"  he  says,  "  every  man  presents  two  personalities,  one 
conscious  and  one  incognised  [he  justly  urges  that  this  second  person- 
ality is  bien  plutot  inconpie  qu'inconsciente]  :  in  the  normal  man  these  are 
equal,  equilibrated,  each  of  them  complete  ;  in  the  hysteric  they  are 
unequal  and  disequilibrated  ;  one  of  them — generally  the  primary — being 
incomplete,  while  the  other  remains  perfect.  .  .  Let  us  give  a  form  to 
these  two  entities  constituted  by  the  two  successive  consciousnesses  ;  let  us 
represent  them  by  two  persons,  walking  one  behind  the  other.  The  person 
who  walks  in  front  knows  himself  but  has  no  notion  of  the  person  who  follows 
him.  The  person  who  follows  knows  himself — and  knows  also  the  person 
whom  he  sees  walking  in  front  of  him.  In  a  normal  man,  these  two 
personages  are  both  of  them  vigorous  and  are  of  equal  stature .;  the  second 
cannot  manage  to  knock  down  the  first,  and  show  himself  openly  ;  in  order 
to  do  so  he  must  await  some  temporary  feebleness  of  the  first  personage, — as 
in  sleep  or  intoxication.  Sometimes,  however,  as  in  the  case  of  the  madman, 
he  can  abolish  the  first  personage  and  substitute  himself.  It  is  then  that, 
proud  of  the  exploit,  he  performs  the  impulsive  actions  with  which  we  are 
familiar  in  some  cases  of  nervous  disease." 

There  seems  to  me  to  be  some  confusion  here.  The  second  personality, 
represented  as  being  the  equal  of  the  first — de  tattle  e'gale — ought  hardly  to  be 
credited  with  performing  mere  mad  acts  if  it  succeeds  in  obtaining  the 
mastery  over  the  first.  This  is  to  attempt  more  simplification  than  the 
facts  admit  of.  These  actes  impidaifs  must  be  regarded,  I  think,  in  many 
cases  as  being  the  self- manifestation, not  of  any  combination  of  nerve-centres 
(or  their  mental  correlates)  extensive  enough  to  be  the  basis  of  a  personality, 
but  rather  of  some  hypertrophied  group  of  nervous  elements, — some  idiejure, 
existing — like  a  tumour — in  quasi-independence  of  the  mental  organism  as  a 
whole.  "  In  a  hysteric,"  M.  Janet  continues,  "  the  equilibrium  is  over- 
thrown. The  two  personages  who  walk  in  procession  are  of  very  unequal 
strength.  The  first  is  feeble,  dwarfed,  degraded  ;  he  can  scarcely  stand 
upright  ;  the  second  is  vigorous  and  of  normal  height  ;  he  can  easily  show 
himself  ;  in  order  to  do  so  sometimes  he  takes  advantage  of  the  natural  sleep 
of  the  first  personage  and  takes  a  stroll  along  the  roofs, — that  is  spontaneous 
somnambulism  ; — sometimes  in  mid-day  he  confuses  the  feeble  personage 
who  walks  in  front  of  him,  and  rolls  himself  on  the  ground  in  frantic 
gymnastics, — that  is  the  hysterical  crisis." 

Here  again  I  must  protest  against  the  ascription  of  these  senseless  habits 
to  a  secondary  personality  in  the  hysterical  subject,  which  is  ex  hypotticsi 


supplement.]  Double  Personality.  219 

stronger  and  saner  than  the  first.  Why  should  it  behave  thus  wildly  ? 
Blanche  2,  whom  M.  Janet  has  been  holding  up  as  the  type  of  a  hysteric's 
second  personality,  shows,  when  fully  developed,  no  inclination  whatever  to 
violent  pranks.  She  may  indeed — though  M.  Janet  does  not  state  this — 
remember  the  contortions  of  the  crise ;  but  that  does  not  prove  that  she 
originated  the  erise  any  more  than  she  originates  any  foolish  act  of  the  first 
personality's  doing.  Again  I  say  that  our  metaphor  cannot  be  thus 
simplified  ;  the  crise  does  not  strictly  form  a  part  either  of  the  first  or  of  the 
second  personality  ;  it  is  the  explosion  of  a  group  of  elements  insufficient  to 
form  the  basis  of  any  stable  personality  at  all. 

But  putting  aside  this  confusion  of  language  into  which,  as  it  seems  to 

me,  M.  Janet  has  been  led  by  attempting  too  great  a  simplicity  of  metaphor, 

and  trying  to  force  all  the  phenomena  which  Blanche  Witt-  exhibits  into  the 

cadre  of  her  first  or  of  her  second  personality,  let  us  consider  the  definite 

result,  scientific  and  practical,  which  M.  Janet  has  attained.     He  has  shown 

once  more — as  Elliotson  again  and  again  insisted — that  the  mesmeriser  who 

wants  to  produce  a  complete  effect,  must  go  on  unweariedly  with  his  passes  ; 

and  not  assume  that  because  one  state,  or  several  states,  are  readily  producible, 

and  constantly  recur,  there  is  therefore  nothing  to  be  attained  beyond.     And 

on  the  practical  side  he  has  shown  that  no  amount  of  hysterical  disturbance, 

however  prolonged  and  profound,  need  be  regarded  as  incurable.     Hysteria 

is  not  a  lesion  but  a  displacement  ;  it  is  a  withdrawal,  that  is  to  say,  of  <^    :  f 

certain  nervous  energies  from  the  plane  of  the  primary  personality  ;  but  (.  i 

those  energies  still  potentially  subsist,  and  they  can  again  be  placed,  by 

proper  management,  under  their  normal  control. 

M.  Janet  tells  me  that  last  year  he  kept  Blanche  Witt-  for  months 
together  in  her  second  state,  with  much  comfort  to  her  ;  and  that  now, 
though  he  has  ceased  to  attend  her,  he  understands  that  her  condition  in  the 
first  state  is  much  better  than  of  old. 

Another  case,1  treated  also  by  M.  Jules  Janet,  and  which  he  has  kindly 
given  me  the  opportunity  of  seeing,  is  even  more  remarkable  in  a  therapeutic 
aspect  It  is  perhaps  the  most  marked  among  those  very  rare  cases  where  it 
can  be  said  with  confidence  that  death  itself  has  been  averted  by  a  hypnotic 
change  of  personality. 

From  the  age  of  13  the  patient  Marceline  R.  had  been  subject  to  a 
miserable  series  of  hysterical  troubles — chorea,  crises,  anaesthesia,  &c.  In 
January,  1886,  the  hysterical  tendency  took  its  most  serious  form,— of 
insuperable  vomiting,  which  became  so  bad  that  the  very  sight  of  a  spoonful 
of  soap  produced  distressing  spasms.  Artificial  means  of  feeding  were  tried, 
with  diminishing  success,  and  in  June,  1887,  she  was  paralytic  and  so 
emaciated  that  (in  spite  of  the  rarity  of  deaths  from  any  form  of  hysteria)  her 
death  from  exhaustion  appeared  imminent. 

If.  Janet  was  then  asked  to  hypnotise  her.  Almost  at  once  he  succeeded 
in  inducing  a  somnambulic  state  in  which  she  could  eat  readily  and  digest 
*elL  Her  weight  increased  rapidly,  and  there  was  no  longer  any  anxiety  as 
to  a  fatal  result.     But  the  grave  inconvenience  remained  that  she  could  only 

1  The   earlier  part    of  this   case    is  decribed  in  M.  Jules  Janet's  paper,  "  Un 
Gas  d'Hysterie  Grave,"  Revue  de  VHypnotisme,  May,  1889. 


220  Dr.  Jvles  Janet  on  Hysteria  and 

eat  when  hypnotised.  M.  Janet  tried  to  overcome  this  difficulty  ;  for  a  time 
he  succeeded  ;  and  she  left  the  hospital  for  a  few  months.  She  soon, 
however,  returned  in  her  old  state  of  starvation.  M.  Janet  now  changed  his 
tactics.  Instead  of  trying  to  enable  her  to  eat  in  her  first  or  so-called  normal 
state,  he  resolved  to  try  to  enable  her  to  live  comfortably  in  her  secondary 
state.  In  this  he  gradually  succeeded,  and  sent  her  out  in  October,  1888, 
established  in  her  new  personality.  The  only  inconveniences  of  this  change 
seem  to  be  (1)  that  when  she  has  been  left  some  months  without  re-hypno- 
tisation  a  tendency  to  hysterical  mutism  sets  in  ;  and  (2)  that  whenever  she 
is  "awakened  "  into  her  first  personality  she  has  lost  (like  Felida  X.)  all 
memory  of  the  time  passed  in  the  second. 

After  some  shorter  trials,  M.  Janet  hypnotised  her  November  12th,  1888, 
and  left  her  in  her  secondary  state  till  January  15th,  1889.  He  then  ."awoke  " 
her,  but  the  vomiting  at  once  returned,  and  she  again  applied  to  M.  Janet  for 
help.  He  hypnotised  her,  and  left  her  in  her  second  state  till  March  31st.  He 
then  again  "  awoke  "  her,  with  the  same  result.  Again  he  hypnotised  her  ; 
and  when  he  took  me  to  see  her  on  August  10th, she  had  been  in  the  hypnotic 
state  continuously  for  three  months  and  ten  days  ; — during  which  time  she 
had  successfully  passed  a  written  examination  for  the  office  of  hospital  nurse, 
which  she  had  failed  to  pass  in  her  normal  state. 

When  we  saw  her,  August  10th,  she  was  normal  in  appearance  and  manner, 
except  for  a  certain  shortness  of  breath,  or  difficulty  of  speaking,  which  M. 
Janet  explained  as  likely  to  develop  into  hysterical  mutism,  if  hypnotisation 
were  not  renewed.  She  was  fairly  well  nourished,  and  her  expression  was 
open  and  contented. 

M.  Janet  resolved  not  merely  to  re-hypnotise  her,  but  to  wake  her  and 
leave  her  for  a  time  in  her  first  state,  in  order  to  see  whether  the  dysphagia 
had  disappeared, — and  at  the  same  time  to  observe  whether  the  loss  of 
recollection  of  the  events  of  the  secondary  state  was  really  complete.  He 
woke  her — in  the  old  Elliotsonian  fashion — by  "  reverse  passes."  Her  change 
of  expression  was  very  noticeable.  The  look  of  easy  content  was  replaced  by 
a  pained,  anxious  air.  Her  attention  was  at  once  arrested  by  some  masons  at 
work  in  the  courtyard, — who  apparently  had  pulled  down  a  wall,  or  made 
some  similar  change,  since  her  last  wakening.  Asked  what  she  was  looking 
at,  she  said  in  a  low,  timid  voice,  "  I  had  not  observed  the  alterations." 
Asked  what  day  of  the  week  it  was,  she  said  "  Sunday  "  ; — and  in  fact  March 
31st  was  a  Sunday.  "  What  day  ot  the  month  ?  "  "  March  31st.  "  "  How, 
then,  is  this  oleander  in  the  courtyard  in  flower  ?"  "  O,  sir,"  she  said, 
'*  those  flowers  are  only  paper."  "  Feel  them  !  "  She  felt  them  timidly, 
and  said  nothing  more.  "  What  had  you  for  breakfast  this  morning  ?  "  *'  I 
tried  to  take  some  milk."  This  again  referred  to  March  31st ; — on 
August  10th,  she  had  breakfasted  on  ordinary  solid  food.  "  Drink  a 
little  now."  She  attempted,  but  spasms  at  once  began,  and  she  could  not 
retain  it.  We  then  left  her  ;  but  Prof.  Pierre  Janet  (who  was  also  present,) 
tells  me  that  during  the  two  or  three  days  for  which  she  was  left  in  her 
first  state  the  alarming  vomiting  continued  and  she  began  to  spit  blood. 
"  My  brother  was  sent  for,  and  determined  to  re-hypnotise  her.  She  was 
calmed  as  if  by  enchantment,  and  is  now  in  excellent  condition.  During  her 
two  'waking'  days  she  made  a  number  of  serious  blunders  not  only  as  regards 


Snpplsnmt.] 


Double  Personality. 


221 


her  mother,  but  with  lodgers  in  the  house.  Her  conduct  absolutely  proved 
a  complete  forgetfulness  of  the  preceding  months.  After  making  inquiries 
from  the  various  persons  who  saw  her,  my  brother  told  me  that  he  could 
retain  no  doubt  as  to  her  forgetfulness."  M.  Jules  Janet  adds  that  since  she 
has  been  replaced  in  the  second  condition  the  loss  of  flesh  has  been  rapidly 
repaired,  and  she  is  again  comfortable. 

The  future  of  this  case  will  be  interesting  to  watch.  Will  the  secondary 
personality  fade  away  again,  and  leave  her  exposed  to  the  dangerous  sufferings 
from  which  she  has  now  been  for  nearly  a  year  delivered  ?  Or  will  she,  like 
Felida  X  ,  thrive  on  her  radical  reconstruction,  and  live  out  her  natural  life — 
whose  natural  life? — in  her  secondary  condition,  in  peace  and  quietness?  And 
if  so,  are  there  any  of  the  rest  of  us  who  might  be  made  much  better  by 
being  made  quite  different  ? 


222  Professor  LUgeois  on  Suggestion  and       [Supplement 


VII. 

PROFESSOR  LIEGEOIS  ON   SUGGESTION   AND   SOMNAM- 
BULISM IN  RELATION  TO  JURISPRUDENCE.1 

By  Walter  Leaf. 


Five  years  ago, in  April,  1884, Professor  Liegeois  read  before  the  Academic 
des  Sciences  Morales  et  Politiques  a  memoir  on  "La  Suggestion  Hypnotique 
dans  ses  Rapports  avec  le  Droit  Civil  et  le  Droit  Criminel."  The  experiments 
there  recounted,  and  the  extraordinary  conclusions  to  which  they  obviously 
led,  created  a  sensation  in  France  ;  they  were  introduced  to  English  readers 
by  Mr.  F.  W.  H.  Myers  in  an  article  in  the  Fortnightly  Review  for  November, 
1885,  entitled  Human  Personality,  which  attracted  hardly  less  attention. 
Many  will  remember  the  shock  with  which  they  first  read  of  the  mmnUfrMi 
crimes  which  M.  Liegeois  could  by  a  word  induce  his  subjects  to 
commit.  A  daughter  fired  point-blank  at  her  mother's  breast  a 
revolver  which  she  believed  to  be  loaded  ;  a  young  man  dis- 
solved in  water  a  powder  which  he  was  told  was  arsenic,  and 
gave  it  to  his  aunt  to  drink.  When  questioned  as  to  his  act,  he  showed  the 
most  complete  ignorance  of  what  he  had  done.  Hardly  less  astonishing  and 
disquieting  was  the  development  given  to  the  already  known  facts  of  post- 
hypnotic suggestion.  Hallucinations  had  been  produced  which  worked 
themselves  out  in  action  at  a  distance  of  days,  weeks  and  even  months,  at 
the  precise  place  and  hour  which  it  pleased  the  hypnotiser  to  suggest.  It 
appeared  impossible  to  set  limits  to  the  power  possessed  by  the  hypnotiser 
over  the  future  as  well  as  the  present,  over  the  character  as  well  as  the 
momentary  acts,  of  a  really  susceptible  subject. 

Five  years  have  expanded  this  pregnant  memoir  into  a  bulky  but 
eminently  readable  volume  of  more  than  700  pages.  But  they  have  only 
confirmed  and  extended  the  conclusions  therein  arrived  at.  The  criticisms 
to  which  he  has  been  exposed  in  France  are  examined  by  Professor  Liegeois, 
and  in  our  opinion  are  triumphantly  refuted.  Experiments  in  England, 
Switzerland,  Belgium,  Italy,  Austria  and  Germany  have  combined  to 
establish  the  views  of  the  Nancy  school  against  the  great  names  of  the 
Salpetriere. 

The  additions  which  the  treatise  has  received  are  not,  however,  wholly 
or  even  mainly  polemical.  It  opens  with  an  excellent  review,  which  seems 
complete  so  far  as  France  is  concerned,  of  the  past  history  of  the  suggestion- 
theory  ;  that  work  dono  in  other  countries  should  be  to  a  great  extent 
ignored,  is  only  what  one  has  learnt  to  expect.  But  with  these  limitations 
it  will  be  found  an  excellent  introduction  to  the  study  of  hypnotism  in 
general.  The  chapter  on  processes  of  hypnotisation  is  thoroughly  practical. 
The  therapeutic  aspects  of  the  question,  Professor  Liegeois,  as  a  lawyer, 

1  De  laSugyestion  ct  du  Somnambulism*  dans  leurs  Rapports  avec  la  Jurisprudence^ 
la  Midtcinc  LtyaU.  Par  Jules  Litgcois,  Professcur  a  la  FacuUi  de  Droit  de  Nancy,  1SS9. 


supplement.]  Somnambulism  in  Relation  to  Jurisprudence.        223 

leaves  to  his  medical  colleagues,  Dra.  Lie*beault,  Bernheim  and  Beaunis,  with 
the  exception  of  one  chapter,  where  he  relates  at  length  some  extraordinary 
experiments  on  vesication  by  suggestion,  carried  out  by  Focachon,  the 
production  of  stigmata  by  MM.  Bourru  and  Burot,  and  the  use  of  hypnotic 
anaesthesia  in  surgery.  It  is  with  Chapter  xii.  that  he  begins  the  practical 
part  of  his  subject,  the  influence  which  the  new  view  of  suggestion  may  have 
upon  jurisprudence. 

The  facility  which  suggestion  may  give  for  the  commission  with  absolute 
impunity  of  the  most  terrible  crimes  is  so  obvious  that  one  might  at  first  be 
almost  tempted  to  wish  that  such  knowledge  had  never  been  published 
to  mankind.  But,  apart  from  the  question  of  pure  science,  it  will  be  enough 
that  the  reader  should  glance  through  the  legal  cases  collected  by  Liegeois  to 
see  that  such  a  wish  is  wrong.     He  makes  it  clear  enough  that  such  crimes 
have  already  been  sporadically  committed,  and  that  miscarriages   of  justice 
have  taken  place,  which  a  mere  state  of  ignorance  would  certainly  bring 
about  again  in  the  future.     It  is  essential  in   the  interests  of  the  innocent 
victims  themselves  that  we  should  know  all  that  we  can  learn,  in  order  to 
save  them  from  themselves.     One  great  step  has  already  been  made  when 
we  find  that  the  most  suggestible  are  precisely  those  who  can  best  be  helped, 
by  the  suggestion  that  no  one  can  have  any  influence  over  them  in  future 
bat  a  single  hypnotiser,  who  is,  of  course,  to  be  sought  in  a  trustworthy 
person.   M.  Liegeois  goes  on  to  consider  the  steps  to  be  taken  when  it  is  sus- 
pected that  a  crime  has  been  committed  by  an  innocent  person  in  a  state  of 
suggested  somnambulism.     His  method  is  ingenious,  but  we  are  afraid  de- 
lusive.   The  first  thing,  he  says,  is  to  appoint  a  commission   of  doctors  to 
decide  whether   the   person  accused  is    suggestible.       This    being    ascer- 
tained, we  have  to  endeavour  to  circumvent  the  suggestion  given,  ex  h\ipo- 
tten,  by  the  real  criminal ;  "  Tou  will  entirely  forget  that  I  have  given  you 
this  suggestion  ;  you  will  in  no  case  be  able  to  denounce  me,  however  much 
you  may  wish  to  do  so."      Liegeois  has  made  experiments  which  show  that 
inch  a  device  may  be  successfully  turned.      He  gave  one  of  his  subjects  the 
suggestion  that  she  had  committed  a  murder,  but  could  not  denounce  him 
a*  the  real  author  of  the  crime.    Dr.  Li6beault  then  hypnotised  her  and  gave 
ber  the  suggestion  that  when  she  saw  "the  author  of  the  criminal  suggestion, 
whoever  he  might  be/'  she  would  fall  asleep  and  perform  a  preconcerted 
Knee  of  acts  with  regard  to  him  which  would  not  be  naturally  associated 
with  the  idea  of  denouncing  him.      When  Dr.  Liegeois  enters  the  room  she 
goes  through  this  series  of  acts,  and  would  thus  in  a  real  case  have  identified 
bim  as  the  author  of  the  crime — whether  clearly  enough  to  satisfy  a  jury 
remains  to  be  seen.     The  experiment  was  successfully  repeated  on  another 
subject,  and  Dr.  Liegeois  concludes:    "It  is  possible  to  give  a  hypnotic 
subject  any  suggestions  relative  to  the  author,  whoever  he  be,  of  the  criminal 
impulse,  which  are  not  expressly  and  directly  contrary  to  the  amnesia  which 
be  has  called  forth.     The  real  criminal  will  thus  fall  into    the  hands  of 
justice,  because  it  will  have  been  impossible  for  him  to  foresee  and  remove 
all  dangers  by  a  suggestion  of  amnesia,  however  large  and  comprehensive." 
But  we  must  ask  Dr.  Liegeois  one  question,  which  he  seems  to  have  for- 
gotten :  Suppose  the  real  criminal  has  after  suggesting  the  supposed  amnesia 
*dded  "  No  one  in  future  can  hypnotise  you  or  give  you  suggestions  but 


224  Proftiwr  Liigeois.  [Sawtoment 

myself  "  ;  how  would  he  then  begin  his  investigation  ?  His  commission  of 
doctors  would  report  at  the  outset  that  the  ostensible  criminal  was  not 
susceptible  to  suggestion,  and  what  would  be  called  "  justice  "  must  take  its 
course. 

We  may  end  by  calling  attention  to  the  curious  experiments  in  negative 
hallucination  described  on  pp.  701-711.  This  particular  development  is,  we 
think,  quite  new.  M.  Li6beault  begins  by  giving  his  subject,  Camille  S., 
the  negative  hallucination  that  she  is  unable  either  to  see  or  to  hear  M. 
Li£geois.  She  is  awakened,  and  is  absolutely  unconscious  of  his  presence,  even 
to  the  extent  of  showing  no  sign  of  pain  when  he  pricks  her  with  a  pin, 
though  she  feels  at  once  if  anyone  else  does  so.  He  speaks  to  her  in  his 
own  name,  but  she  takes  no  notice.  Now  comes  the  strange  part.  u  I  now 
proceed  impersonally,  speaking  not  in  my  own  name  but  as  though 
there  were  an  inner  voice  addressing  her  from  her  own  consciousness. 
Then  somnambulic  automatism  appears  as  complete  in  this  novel  and 
unknown  form  as  in  any  of  the  shapes  with  which  we  are  already  familiar." 

"  I  say  to  her  aloud,  '  Camille  is  thirsty  ;  she  will  go  to  the  kitchen  for 
a  glass  of  water,  which  she  will  bring  in  and  put  upon  this  table.'  She  seems 
to  have  heard  nothing,  but,  at  the  end  of  a  few  minutes,  she  does  what  has 
been  indicated,  and  that  with  the  lively  and  impetuous  manner  so  often 
noticed  in  somnambules.  She  is  asked  why  she  has  brought  in  the  glass  of 
water  which  she  has  just  placed  on  the  table.  *  What  do  you  mean  ?  I  have 
not  stirred.  There  is  no  glass/  I  then  say,  '  Camille  sees  the  glass,  but  it  is 
not  water,  as  they  would  have  her  believe.  It  is  a  glass  of  very  good  wine  ; 
she  will  drink  it,  and  it  will  do  her  good.'  She  executes  at  once  the  order 
given  her,  and  has  immediately  forgotten  all  about  it." 

M.  Lilgeois  goes  on  to  give  an  account  of  a  conversation  between 
Camille  and  the  other  persons  present,  in  which  she  repeats  mechanically  as 
her  own  every  answer  to  their  questions  with  which  he  himself  prompts  her. 
Finally,  by  a  suggestion  given  in  his  own  name  he  wakes  her  up — or  rather, 
for  she  is  already  awake  except  as  regards  himself,  he  abolishes  the 
negative  hallucination,  and  she  has  completely  forgotten  all  that  has 
passed. 

The  conclusion  which  M.  Li^geois  draws  is  strikingly  in  harmony  with 
views  which  have  been  developed  at  length  in  these  pages  by  Mr. 
Myers.  "This  shows  that  during  a  negative  hallucination  the  sub- 
ject sees  that  which  he  seems  not  to  see,  and  hears  that  which  he 
seems  not  to  hear.  There  are  in  him  two  personalities  ;  an  unconscious  Ego 
which  sees  and  hears,  and  a  conscious  Ego  which  neither  sees  nor  hears,  but 
to  which  suggestions  can  be  made,  passing,  if  I  may  so  express  myself, 
through  the  channel  of  the  first  Ego.  This  duplication  of  personality  is  no 
more  surprising  than  that  which  has  been  established  by  Dr.  Azam  in  the 
case  of  Felida  X.,"  and  one  or  two  similar  cases.  The  experiment  is 
evidently  crucial  as  proving  that  the  phenomena  of  negative  hallucination 
are  purely  psychical,  nor  physical,  as  MM.  Binet  and  F^re*  would  have  it. 
The  further  conclusions  which  might  be  deduced  are  more  than  can  be  con- 
sidered here.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  no  student  of  hypnotism  can  afford  to 
neglect  this  important  work. 


s«ppkBMBt  Two  Books  on  Hypnotism.  225 


VIII. 

TWO  BOOKS  ON  HYPNOTISM. 

By  Walter  Leaf. 


Der  Hypnotismus,  seine  Bedeutung  und  seine  Handhabung,  in  kivrzge- 
faater  DarsteUwig.     Von  Dr..  August  Forel.     Stuttgart,  1889. 

Dk  Suggestionstherapie  und  ihre  Technik.  Von  Dr.  Ed.  Baierlacher. 
Stuttgart,  1889. 

These  two  short  treatises  have  substantially  the  same  object  ;  that  of 
assisting  medical  men  in  the  employment  of  hypnotism  in  ordinary  practice. 
They  take  the  same  view,  both  authors  being — one  may  almost  say  "  of 
course  " — thorough-going  adherents  of  the  Nancy  school.  Dr.  Baierlacher 
is  a  practising  physician  in  Nuremberg ;  Dr.  Forel,  as  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  remind  a  student  of  the  subject,  is  the  director  of  the  important  cantonal 
lunatic  asylum  at  Zurich.  Neither  of  them  aims  at  making  any  addition  to 
the  theory  of  the  subject,  but  both  supply  interesting  evidence  from  their 
own  experience. 

To  take  the  common  matter  first,  it  will  be  noticed  that  both,  like 
their  Nancy  teachers,  employ  suggestion  alone  for  producing  the  hypnotic 
sleep,  without  any  passes  or  prolonged  gazing  at  bright  objects.  Both 
recommend  Bernheim's  modus  operandi.  "  Tou  place  the  patient  in  an  arm- 
chair, and  make  him  look  for  a  few  seconds  up  to  one  or  two  minutes  into 
your  eyes,  and  meanwhile  tell  him  in  a  loud  and  confident  but  monotonous 
tone  that  he  is  going  on  famously,  that  his  eyes  are  already  swimming,  the 
lids  are  heavy,  that  he  feels  a  pleasant  warmth  in  legs  and  arms.  Then  you 
nuke  him  look  at  the  thumb  and  first  finger  of  your  left  hand,  which  you 
gradually  lower,  so  that  the  eyelids  may  follow.  If  the  eyes  now  close  of 
themselves  the  game  is  won.  If  not,  you  say,  '  Shut  your  eyes,'  "  and  proceed 
with  suggestions  of  catalepsy,  &c. ,  following  up  those  which  appear  to  be 
accepted.  The  success  which  attends  this  method  is  rather  surprising  in  com- 
parison with  English  experience.  Baierlacher  advises  that  the  sitting  should 
be  interrupted  and  a  further  trial  postponed  for  a  time,  if  sleep,  or  at  least 
some  sign  of  influence,  is  not  produced  in  half  a  minute,  or  at  most  a  minute. 
He  has  attempted  hypnotism  in  146  cases,  and  failed  in  only  25.  Dr.  For  el's 
percentage  of  success  is  still  higher  ;  of  the  last  105  persons  whom  he  has 
attempted  to  hypnotise  only  11  were  uninfluenced  ;  a  figure  which  shows  a 
decided  improvement  on  the  80  per  cent,  who  should,  according  to  Bernheim, 
prove  susceptible,  and  seems  to  dispose  of  the  often-asserted  view  that  the 
Latin  races  are  easier  to  influence  than  the  Teutonic.  Indeed,  Forel  lays  it 
down  as  a  principle  that  *'  every  mentally  healthy  man  is  naturally  hypno- 
tisable  ;  it  is  only  certain  transitory  psychical  conditions  which  can  prevent 
hypnosis."  It  is  unfortunate,  as  he  remarks,  that  his  own  position  gives  him 
little  opportunity  of  wide  experiments  with  the  mentally  healthy.  With  his 
insane  patients  he  has  had  little  encouragement.     One  of  them,  Mrs.  X. , 


226  Two  Books  on  Hypnotism.  [Supplement. 

believed  herself  to  be  Mrs.  T.  "I  was  able  to  hypnotise  her,  and  to  produce 
by  suggestion  sleep,  appetite,  and  even  post-hypnotic  hallucinations.  But 
when  I  told  her  with  all  possible  emphasis  during  hypnosis  that  she  now  knew 
herself  to  be  Mrs.  X.  and  not  Mrs.  T. ,  that  her  idea  was  only  an  illusion  at 
which  she  could  now  laugh,  she  kept  on  shaking  her  head  so  long  as  I 
continued  my  assertions,  in  order  to  show  me  that  she  did  not  accept  the 
suggestion."  "  In  suggestion,"  he  adds,  "  one  uses  the  brain  of  the  subject 
as  a  machine.  In  the  case  of  the  insane  the  machine  is  out  of  gear  and  will 
not  work." 

In  spite,  however,  of  his  primary  occupation  with  these  far  from  hopeful 
materials,  Dr.  Forel  has  collected  a  large  amount  of  interesting  evidence.  We 
may  quote  one  or  two  of  his  more  important  experiments.  Here  is  a  curious 
case  of  post-hypnotic  hallucination. 

"  I  told  Miss  Z.  while  hypnotised  that  she  would  on  awaking  find  two 
violets  in  the  bosom  of  her  dress,  both  natural  and  pretty,  and  that  she  was 
to  give  me  the  prettier.  At  the  same  time  I  put  one  real  violet  into  her 
dress.  When  she  woke  she  saw  two  violets  ;  one  was  brighter  and  prettier, 
she  said,  and  she  gave  me  the  corner  of  her  white  handkerchief,  keeping  the 
real  violet  herself.  I  now  asked  if  she  thought  that  both  violets  were  real, 
or  if  one  of  them  was  not  one  of  those  fugitive  presents  which  she  had  on 
previous  occasions  received  at  my  hands.  She  replied  that  the  brighter 
violet  was  not  real,  because  it  looked  so  flattened  upon  the  handkerchief.  I 
now  renewed  the  experiment,  suggesting  three  real  violets,  equally  dark, 
sweet-smelling,  not  flattened  out,  but  tangible,  with  stalks  and  leaves  ;  but 
I  gave  her  only  one  real  flower.  This  time  Miss  Z.  was  completely  deceived, 
and  quite  unable  to  tell  me  whether  one,  two,  or  all  three  violets  were  real 
or  suggested.  She  thought  that  all  were  real  this  time,  while  at  the  very 
moment  she  was  holding  in  one  hand  a  flower,  in  the  other  nothing  but  air. 
It  is  clear,  therefore, that  when  the  suggestion  is  made  to  all  the  senses  at  once 
it  is  completer." 

The  following  very  important  case,  from  the  practical  point  of  view,  is 
slightly  abbreviated  from  Dr.  Forel's  account.  "  An  old  drunkard  of  70 
years  of  age,  after  twice  attempting  to  cut  his  throat,  had  been  kept  in  my 
asylum  from  1879  to  1887  as  a  hopeless  sot.  He  took  every  opportunity  of 
drinking  himself  into  a  state  of  dangerous  hallucination.  At  the  same  time 
he  led  all  the  plots  against  my  endeavours  to  reform  the  drunkards  in  the 
establishment,  and,  though  not  generally  malicious,  incited  the  patients 
against  the  Temperance  Society.  He  could  not  be  allowed  the  least  freedom 
without  using  it  to  get  drunk. 

"  I  had  long  given  him  up,  but  in  1887  tried  to  hypnotise  him.  He 
proved  very  suggestible,  and  in  a  few  sittings  he  was  brought  into  a  surpris- 
ingly serious  state  of  mind.  His  plots  ceased  as  though  by  magic,  and  after  a 
time  he  himself  asked  that  the  small  quantity  of  wine  which  I  had  allowed 
him  as  a  hopeless  case  might  be  cut  off. 

"The  patient  soon  became  one  of  the    heartiest    abstainers    in    the 

institution.     I  long  hesitated  to  allow  him  any  liberty,  but  finally  did  so  in 

the  summer  of  1888.     His  freedom,  though  he  was  always  allowed  some 

pocket  money,  was  never  abused.     He  kept  absolutely  true  to  abstinence, 

became,  by  suggestion,  a  member  of  the  Temperance  Society,  of  which  he 


sopptenwit]  Two  Books  on  Hypnotism.  227 

remains  an  active  adherent,  and  on  his  trips  to  town  drank  nothing  but 
water,  coffee,  or  the  like.  His  susceptibility  to  alcohol  was  such  that  it 
would  have  been  impossible  for  him  ever  to  drink  without  detection.  .  . 
In  the  course  of  the  last  nine  months  he  has  been  only  occasionally  hypno- 
tised for  the  purposes  of  demonstration,  but  requires  no  further  anti-alcoholic 
suggestions." 

Dr.  Forel's  attitude  towards  the  developments  which  have  formed  the 
chief  study  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research  is  one  of  reserve.  He  says  : 
"  A  number  of  apparently  supernatural  phenomena  are  brought  up  again 
and  again  by  trustworthy  and  honourable  persons,  which  would  seem  to 
support  a  theory  such  as  that  of  Mesmer.  I  refer  to  so-called  thought- 
transference  or  suggestion  mentale,  clairvoyance,  so-called  presentiments  and 
premonitions. 

"  A  remarkable  book  in  this  point  of  view  is  Phantasms  of  the  Living. 
.  .  .  No  fewer  than  600  observations  on  visions,  dreams,  presentiments, 
&&,  are  collected.  Exact  information  is  supplied  as  to  the  trustworthiness 
of  the  evidence,  and  only  clear  statements  of  credible  persons  are  admitted." 
He  then  refers  briefly  to  M.  Richet's  and  our  own  results  in  thought-trans- 
ference, and  concludes  :  "It  is  excessively  difficult  in  all  these  experiments, 
apart  from  chance  and  cheating,  to  exclude  the  self-deception  of  the  subject, 
and  in  the  last  resort,  of  the  hypnotiser  himself,  and  above  all  to  be  sure 
of  the  absence  of  slight  unconscious  suggestion  and  auto-suggestion.  These 
results  must  therefore  be  taken  with  the  greatest  caution."  This  is  an 
utterance  with  which  we  can  hardly  quarrel. 

To  turn  back  briefly  to  Dr.  Baierlacher's  book,  the  chief  interest  of  which 
consists  in  a  selection  of  cases  from  his  own  practice.  The  most  striking  of 
these  is  perhaps  the  first — a  case  of  cancer  of  the  stomach  where  he  claims  to 
hare  succeeded  in  entirely  relieving  pain  during  the  last  two  months  of  life, 
for  periods  varying  from  a  few  hours  up  to  (apparently)  two  days  or  more, 
obtaining  natural  sleep,  which  up  to  the  time  of  his  first  attempt  was  only 
imperfectly  induced  by  one  to  two  eg.  of  morphia.  At  the  same  time  he 
facilitated  the  taking  of  food  by  suggestions  to  the  perverted  appetite.  The 
remaining  cases  are  of  a  more  familiar  type — chiefly  neuralgia  and  chorea. 
Dr.  Baierlacher  has  the  courage  to  mention  at  the  end  more  than  a  dozen  cases 
of  complete  or  partial  failure,  a  practice  which  deserves  much  commendation 
now  that  cure  by  suggestion  is  beginning  to  afford  matter  for  sensational 
newspaper  articles. 


! 


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18S9.]  Phantasm  of  the  Dead.  .    229 


I. 

PHANTASMS  OF  THE  DEAD  FROM  ANOTHER 

POINT    OF    VIEW. 

By  F.  Podmore. 


The  first  crude  hypothesis,  that  "  ghosts  "  are  the  spirits  of  deceased 
persons,  actually  walking  this  earth  in  quasi-material  form,  and  holding 
familiar  intercourse  with  their  survivors,  is  probably  held  now  by  few 
if  any  of  the  intelligent  students  of  the  evidence  amassed  by  the 
Society.  It  is  not  that  this  hypothesis  has  fallen  by  the  weight  of 
argument  and  evidence  arrayed  against  it ;  it  has  merely  shared  in  that 
general  euthanasia  which  has  overwhelmed  many  other  pious  opinions 
found  inadequate  to  the  facts.  It  has  silently  dropped  out  of  view. 
But,  nevertheless,  in  the  belief  certainly  of  most  of  those  who  have 
contributed  experiences  of  their  own  to  our  collection,  and  of  nearly  all 
those  who  have  recorded  for  us  experiences  related  to  them  by  others, 
the  "ghost,"  the  thing  seen  or  heard,  manifests  intelligence,  and  bears 
some  definite  relation  to  some  deceased  person ;  a  relation  possibly 
similar  to  that  suggested  in  Pltantasms  of  the  Living  to  exist  between 
the  apparition  seen  at  the  time  of  a  death  and  the  person  whom  it 
ttsenibles. 

It  is  recognised,  in  short,  that  the  phenomena  are  essentially  hallu- 
cinatory, but  it  is  suggested  that  the  hallucinations  are  in  some  sense 
due  to  the  agency  of  a  deceased  person,  that  they  are  possibly  a  reflec- 
tion of  his  uneasy  dream ;  or,  if  that  conception  should  be  found  too 
definite,  that  they  represent  in  .some  way  the  fragmentary  thoughts  of 
a  decaying  personality. 

A  close  familiarity  with  the  evidence  amassed  by  the  Society — a 

femiliarity  extending  over  nearly  eight  years — has  led  me,  not  only  to 

question  the  adequacy  and  relevance  of  the  evidence  on  which  this 

belief  is  founded,  but  to  consider,  further,  whether  the  very  existence 

of  the  evidence,  in  its  present  form,  may  not  be  largely  due  to  the  pre- 

existence  of  that  belief  in  the  minds  of  the  witnesses.     The  hypotheses ' 

advanced  in  the  following  paper,  it  should  be  premised,  are  purely 

tentative.     I  am  fully  aware  that  the  evidence  is  at  present  far  too 

meagre  to  justify  confidence  in  any  solution  of  the  problems  which  it 

presents.    In  fact,  the  main  justification  for  attempting  any  solution  at 

the  present  time  ia  to  be  found  in  the  hope  that  such  an  attempt  may 

direct  and  enootumge  the  accumulation  of  further  evidence.     Moreover, 

*  theory  founcted  upon  the  evidence  has  recently  been  put  forward 

by  Mr.  Myem  And  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  facts,  as  so  far  &&<&Ttaa&c * 


230  Phantasms  of  the  Dead  [Nov. 29, 

lent  themselves  quite  as  readily  to  what  may  perhaps  be  called  an 
agnostic  interpretation:  and  that  it  would  advance  the  ultimate  solution 
of  the  problem  it  b:»th  views  were  fairly  represented. 

It  will,  I  think,  conduce  to  clearness  if  I  here  explain  exactly  what 
evidence  I  am  going  to  discuss.     It  is  the  series  of  narratives,  collected 
by  the  Literary  Committee  of  the   Society,  which  has   been  classed 
together  as  the  *•  G."  series.     This  includes  recognised  phantasms  of 
dead  persons,  unrecognised  apparitions  and  voices,  and  the  mysterious 
noises  which  popularly  suggest  haunting.     In  fact  the  G.  series  corre- 
sponds roughly  to  the  popular  idea  of  "  ghosts."     Early  in  the  course 
of  the  Literarv  Committee's   work  it  was   found   that   the  labour  of 
.studying  the  mass  of  evidence  accumulated  in  MS.  would  be  well  nigh 
intolerable,  and  a  large  part  of  it  was,  therefore,  printed  at  the  expense 
of  a  member  of  the  Committee — not  for  publication,  but  merely  for 
the  convenience  of  the  Committee  itself.     The  cases  thus  printed  are 
numbered  G.l,  G.2,  «fcc.  (in  the  series  we  are  dealing  with),  and  by  these 
numbers  I  shall  refer  to  them.     At  a  later  date  some  of  the  narratives 
were  copied,  in  manifold,  by  the  type-writer  or  cyclostyle,  and  these 
subsidiary  series  are  referred  to  as  G.t.l,  G.c.l,  <fcc.     Files  of  these 
narratives     are    kept  at   the  offices  of   the   S.P.R.,   and   can  under 
certain  conditions  be  inspected  by  any  Member  or  Associate.     After  a 
time  the  plan  of  printing  on  slips  was  abandoned,  and  that  of  printing 
the   narratives  in  the  Journal  (for  private  circulation)  was  adopted 
instead,  the  same  plan  of  lettering  and  numbering  being  retained. 

The  evidential  standard  to  which  a  narrative  must  attain  before 
being  printed  even  for  consideration  by  the  Literary  Committee  has 
never,  of  course,  been  rigidly  defined.  It  has  naturally  risen  since  the 
Committee  began  its  work,  but  even  now  it  should  be  borne  in  mind 
))v  Members  reading  the  Journal  that  the  Committee  do  not  pledge 
themselves  individually  or  collectively  to  any  estimate  of  the  value  ol 
a  story  as  evidence  for  supernormal  phenomena  by  printing  it  for  con- 
sideration in  the  Journal. 

From  the  following  review  of  the  evidence  for  "ghosts"  I  have 
excluded,  except  for  illustrative  purposes,  all  cases  of  the  apparition oi 
a  human  figure,  whether  recognised  or  not,  to  a  solitary  percipient' 
except  when  some  connection  with  matters  outside  the  knowledge  ol 
the  percipient  is  established,  on  the  ground  that  there  is  nothing  insucl 
a  case  to  distinguish  the  figure  from  a  purely  subjective  hallucination 
and  that  as  such,  in  the  absence  of  further  evidence,  we  are  bound  t< 
class  it.  Cases  in  which  the  only  phenomena  are  auditory  have  ^ 
been  excluded.  Such  cases  stand  much  lower  in  the  evidential  seal' 
than  cases  which  treat  of  visual  phenomena.  The  consideration  of  then 
would  not  appreciably  affect  the  conclusions  to  be  drawn,  whilst  t« 
introduce  them  would  cumber  the  argument. 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  231 

There  remain  some  200  stories,  the  majority  hitherto  unpublished, 
included  in  series  G.  of  the  Society's  evidences.  These  narratives  record 
the  apparition  of  a  figure  either  on  separate  occasions  to  different  per- 
cipients in  the  same  locality — successive  cases ;  or  to  two  or  more  persons 
simultaneously — collective  cases  ;  or  to  a  solitary  percipient,  where  the 
veridical  nature  of  the  phantasm  is  proved  by  some  corroborating  cir- 
cumstance. A  small  proportion  of  narratives  given  at  second-hand,  or 
otherwise  of  doubtful  authenticity,  have  been  included  in  the  collection, 
and  these  have  been  employed  in  the  argument  to  illustrate  the  ten- 
dency of  such  narratives  generally  to  merge  into  myth,  and  to  indicate 
the  possible  genesis  of  some  of  their  more  remarkable  features.  In 
discussing  the  narratives  in  detail  it  will  be  shown,  first,  that  there  are 
certain  features — to  wit,  the  recognition  of  the  phantasm,  the  furnish- 
ing of  information  by  it,  its  association  with  human  remains  or  with 
»me  past  tragedy — occurring  commonly  in  these  stories,  which 
strongly  suggest  the  connection  of  the  phantasm  with  some  deceased 
person.  The  stories,  however,  in  which  these  features  occur  are  almost 
invariably  either  second-hand,  or,  if  narrated  by  the  actual  percipient, 
are  in  some  other  point  open  to  suspicion  of  inaccuracy.  It  is  inferred, 
therefore,  that  the  frequent  occurrence  of  these  features  in  narratives 
which  are  evidentially  weak,  and  their  absence,  as  a  general  rule,  from 
those  which  are  evidentially  strong,  indicate  that  there  is  a  strong 
toythopceic  tendency  at  work,  moulding  ghost  stories  into  conformity 
xith  the  preconceived  opinions  of  the  narrator ;  that  first-hand  stories, 
as  a  rule,  escape  the  effects  of  tliis  niythopoeic  tendency  through  the 
greater  sense  of  responsibility  of  the  narrators  ;  and  that  when  first- 
hand stories  present  any  of  the  unusual  features  referred  to  they  are, 
to  some  extent,  to  be  held  suspect. 

It  will  be  shown,  next,  that  first-hand,  and  less  commonly  second- 
hand, narratives  present  many  points — for  instance,  the  absence  of  any 
apparent  motive  in  the  appearance  of  the  phantasm,  its  tendency  to 
assume  various  forms,  the  liability  of  the  percipients  to  casual  and 
apparently  non-veridical  hallucinations,  the  occurrence  of  phantasms 
resembling  animals — difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  hypothesis  that  the 
apparition  seen  is  the  manifestation  of  an  intelligent  entity,  and  sug- 
gesting rather  that  it  is  to  be  attributed  to  casual  hallucination. 

One  or  two  narratives,  given  by  the  percipients  as  "ghost"  stories, 
are  then  quoted,  and  it  is  shown  that  they  may  be  attributed  to  simple 
hallucination.  It  is  suggested  that  in  such  narratives  as  these  we  have 
the  raw  material  of  ghost  stories;  that  a  morbid  tendency  on  the  part  of 
the  percipient,  or  the  feeling  of  vague  alarm  caused  by  the  occurrence 
°f  inexplicable  sounds,  may  give  rise  to  a  hallucination  ;  and  that  this 
may  be  repeated  in  the  experience  of  the  original  percipient,  or  in  that 
tf  others  who  have  shared  his  alarm.     The  resemblance  alleged  to  exist 


232  Phantasriis  of  the  Dead  [Nov.  29, 

between  successive  apparitions  may  be  attributed,  it  is  suggested,  partly 
to  expectation  due  to  half-conscious  hints,  partly  to  the  action  of  the 
raythorxeic  tendency  above  referred  to,  which  operates  to  reduce  dis- 
crepancies and  enhance  similarities  in  the  recollection  of  the  various 
experiences.  Finally,  it  is  suggested  that  in  successive  cases,  where 
these  causes  are  demonstrably  insufficient,  and  in  collective  cases 
generally,  thought-transference  may  have  operated  between  the  original 
percipient  and  all  who  share  a  similar  experience. 

As  regards  the  numerous  instances  quoted  in  previous  papers  read 
before  the  Society,  of  recognition  of  a  phantasm  by  some  marked 
peculiarity,  it  is  suggested  that  thought-transference  from  the  minds  of 
persons  still  living  is  in  almost  all  cases  the  explanation  more  directly 
suggested  by  the  facts.  Moreover,  such  thought-transference  is  a 
cause  of  whose  operation  we  have  independent  proof,  whilst  we  have 
little  or  no  evidence  of  the  action  of  disembodied  intelligences. 

On  the  hypothesis,  then,  that  the  apparitions  seen  in  what  are 
known  as  "  liaunted  "  houses  are  actually  connected  with  a  deceased 
person,  there  are  certain  characteristics  for  which  we  should  be  justified 
in  looking.  We  should  expect,  for  instance,  to  find  in  some  of  these 
stories  evidence  tending  to  identify  the  figure  seen.  Such  evidence 
would  be  furnished  (1)  by  the  recognition  of  the  features  or  the 
clothes,  or  (2)  from  correct  information  given  by  the  apparition  on 
matters  outside  the  knowledge  of  the  percipient.  Or,  in  cases  where 
the  apparition  remained  unrecognised,  the  probability  of  its  connection 
with  some  person  deceased  would  be  greatly  strengthened  by  the  dis- 
covery (3)  of  human  remains,  or  (4)  of  other  evidence  pointing  to  a 
former  tragedy  in  the  locality  of  the  appearance. 

( 1 )  As  regards  the  first  head,  it  is  not  enough,  as  already  said, 
that   a   solitary  percipient  should  see  a  figure  which  he    recognises 
as   resembling   that   of    some   friend   whom   he   knows   to   be   deoil. 
To  establish  any  claim    upon  our   consideration  the  phantasm   must 
l>e  seen   by  more  than  one   person ;  or   appear   at  a  time  when  the 
fact  of  the  death  is  not  known  to  the  percipient;   or   the   recogni- 
tion   must   be   of   an  indirect    kind — that   is,    the    phantasm    must 
exhibit  some  true  feature  previously  unknown  to  the  percipient ;  or 
must  be  subsequently  proved  to  resemble  some  deceased  person  who 
was  unknown  to  the  percipient.     Cases  coming  under  each  of  these 
categories  are  alleged  to  occur,  but  for  the  sake  of  clearness  they  will 
be  more  conveniently  discussed  in  the  latter  part  of  this  paper,  which 
deals  with  the  evidence  recently  brought  forward  by  Mr.  Myers  in  his 
papers  in  the  Proceedings,  Parts  XIV.  and  XV.     One  exception  may, 
however,  be  made. 

In  those  cases  in  which,  from  a  mere  description  of  the  figure, 


% 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  233 

resemblance  is  inferred  to  some  person  unknown  to  the  percipient,  the 
evidence  must,  it  is  obvious,  as  a  general  rule  be  inconclusive.     Except 
in  cases  where  there  is  some  marked  physical  peculiarity  or  deformity, 
it  is  difficult  to  conceive  a  verbal  description  which,  taken  alone,  would 
satisfy  an  intelligent  critic  of  the  identity  of  the  person  described.    But 
an  account  where  the  percipient  is  alleged  to  have  selected  a  picture  or 
photograph  as  resembling  the  apparition  would  seem  to  stand  upon  a 
somewhat  different  footing.     The  materials  for  recognition  are  here 
ampler  and  more  precise,  and  the  evidence  may  be  conveniently  dis- 
cussed at  this  point.     The  results  may  be  given  in  a  few  words.    There 
are  six  such  cases  in  our  collection.      Of  these,  one  (G.  62)  is  third- 
hand.    In  two  other  narratives  (Mr.  X.  Z.'s  case,  Proceedings,  Vol.  I., 
pp.  106-7,  and  G.  28,  Proceedings,  VoL  III.,  p.  101)  the  evidence  of 
the  percipient  is  entirely  uncorroborated  as  regards  the  recognition  of 
the  picture  or  photograph.     In  the  first  case  there  is  a  very  strong 
presumption  that  such  corroboration  would  have  been  forthcoming  if 
the  facts  had  been  accurately  represented  in  the  percipient's  narrative ; 
and  there  are  proved  inaccuracies,  which  have  led  to  the  case  being 
withdrawn.   (Journal,  Vol.  II.,  p.  3.)     And  an  element  of  weakness  is 
introduced  into  the  other  case  by  the  fact  that  the  painting  which  was 
recognised,  not  without  some  prompting,  was  actually  hanging  in  the 
dining-room  of  the  house  in  which   the  figure  appeared,  and   might 
conceivably  have  been  seen  by  the  percipient  on  the  previous  day. 
Moreover,  this  case  also  is  susceptible  of  another  interpretation  (see 
p.  281  below).     In  the  fourth  case  (G.  133)1  the  evidence  for  the  recog- 
nition has,  under  a  rigid  scrutiny,  broken  down,  and  there  is  strong 
ground  for  believing  that  there  was  a  mistake  of  identity,  the  supposed 
ghost  being  a  real  boy.     The  two  remaining  stories  are  discussed  below 
(pp.  280,  292),  and  grounds  are  shown  in  each  case  for  attributing  the 
recognition  to  some  other  cause  than  the  action  of  the  deceased.    None 
of  these  six  cases,  therefore,   in  which  the  apparition   of   a  person 
unknown  to  the  percipient  is  alleged  to  have  been  subsequently  recog- 
nised from  a  picture,  go  far  to  prove  any  connection  of  the  apparition 
with  the  dead.      There  is    another  narrative  (G.  48)  in  which   the 
phantasm  is  said  to  have  been  recognised  from  a  corpse ;  but  in  this 
case  the  evidence  is  third-hand,  if  not  even  more  remote,      Lastly 
(0. 102),  there  is  an  alleged  recognition  of  an  article  of  dress  worn  by 
a  phantasm,  but  it  is  only  at  second-hand. 

(2)  I  have  found  20  cases — there  may  be  more — in  which  informa- 
tion outside  the  possible  range  of  the  percipient's  knowledge  is  said  to 
have  been  given  by  a  phantasm,  or  in  a  dream.  Of  these  20  cases  only 
two  (G.  157  and  623)  are  undoubtedly  at  first-hand.     The  first  is  the 

1  An  account  of  this  case— the  ghost  of  Tom  Potter— was  published  in  Appari- 
ti*s,  by  Mr.  Newton  Croaland,  pp.  45-50. 


234  Phantasms  of  the  Dead  [Nov.  29, 

account  of  the  discovery  of  the  dead  body  of  a  suicide  through  a  dream* 
The  evidence  here  is  insufficient;  the  person  who  was  in  a  position  to 
give  the  most  conclusive  corroboration  to  the  percipient's  narrative 
declined  to  answer  any  questions,  or  give  any  information  whatever. 
And  the  place  where  the  body  was  found — a  neighbouring  summer-house 
— seems  not  beyond  the  range  of  conjecture,  unconscious  or  otherwise. 
In  G.  623  (quoted  and  discussed  in  Mr.  Myers'  paper  in  Proceedings, 
VoL  VI.,  pp.  35-41),  a  skeleton  was  actually  discovered  in  a  spot 
indicated  by  the  percipient,  which  he  stated  was  revealed  to  him  in  a 
dream.  Unfortunately  the  percipient  was  dead  some  years  before 
the  story  reached  us,  and  we  have  had  to  rely  upon  his  testimony 
as  recorded.  The  case  is  discussed  at  length  below  (p.  303).  Of  the 
remaining  18  narratives,  none  of  which,  as  said,  are  at  first-hand, 
there  are  six  cases  in  which  a  murder  is  alleged  to  have  been  revealed 
(G.  150, 170,  308,  414,  460,  611).  There  are  two  cases  (G.  129.  and 
171)  in  which  information  is  given  as  to  the  condition  of  a  body 
lawfully  buried;  two  cases  (G.  421  and  G.c.  600)  in  which  the  phantasm 
shows  a  laudable  desire  to  discharge  his  just  debts  ;  and  there  are  eight 
cases  (G.  141,  173,  304,  362,  379,  411,  412,  and  G.c.  305)  in  which 
the  apparition  gives  warning  of  impending  death,  indicates  the  where- 
abouts of  a  missing  will,  or  supplies  some  other  information.  Of  these, 
one  (G.173)  treats  of  a  missing  will  discovered  through  the  agency  of  a 
deceased  uncle.  The  story  was  never  published,  and  as,  since  its 
receipt,  we  have  ascertained  that  the  narrator  is  a  young. woman  who 
at  one  time  earned  a  precarious  livelihood  by  copying  articles  from 
American  magazines,  and  submitting  them  as  her  own  composition  to 
the  judgment  of  English  editors,  and  as  a  critical  examination  has 
made  it  evident  that  the  necessary  attestations  to  the  truth  of  the 
narrative,  purporting  to  be  written  and  signed  by  various  persons, 
are  in  the  same  handwriting  variously  disguised,  it  is  perhaps  not 
unreasonable  to  conjecture  that  the  story  itself  lacks  objective 
foundation. 

Lastly,  there  are  three  cases,  all  second-hand,  or  more  remote 
(G.  138,  338,  435),  in  which  an  apparition  averts  a  catastrophe — either 
suicide  or  a  serious  accident.  Thus  out  of  23  cases  in  which 
a  definite  piece  of  information  is  alleged  to  have  been  given,  or  a 
definite  purpose  shown,  only  two  are  at  first-hand,  ancj  in  both  of  these 
narratives  the  evidence  is  incomplete,  whilst  the  facts  themselves 
suggest  a  perfectly  normal  explanation. 

(3)  There   are  about    13    cases   in  our   collection  in  which  human 
remains  are  alleged   to  have  been  discovered  on  the  scene   of   unex- 
plained  ghostly  manifestations.       But   in    three  instances  only  does 
the  actual  discovery  rest  upon  unquestionable  evidence   (G.  18,    154, 
and  386,  quoted  in  Proceedings,  Vol.  VI.,  Case  IX.).   In  four  other  cases 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  235 

(G.  61,  606,  G.c.  306,  617),  the  whole   of   the  evidence  is  second- 
hand and  even  more  remote ;  and  in  one  of  these  (G.  61)  the  discovery 
of  the  skeleton  is  explicitly  contradicted  on  evidence  which  may  be 
taken  as  authoritative.     In  G.c.  900  the  evidence  for  the  finding  of  a 
skeleton  rests  on  the  uncorroborated  memory  of  a  child  of  six,  who  does 
not  profess  to  have  seen  the  skeleton  dug  up  ;    this  story  appears  to 
have  been  first  committed  to  writing  nearly   50  years  after  the  alleged 
event    In  G.  456  (Proceedings,  Vol.  VI.,  Case  X.)  the  evidence  for  the 
skeleton  depends  on  the   narrator's  remembrance  of  a  conversation 
held  at  least  30  years  before,  and  in  G.  2  and  614  the  authority  for 
the  alleged   discovery  is  not  given.      In  G.  331  the  story,   though 
first-hand,  is  from   an  illiterate  person;  and  the  figure  said  to  have 
been  seen,  that  of  a  shadowy  woman,  has  no  obvious  connection  with 
the  remains  found,  which  were  those  of  a  baby.  In  G.  156  the  evidence 
for  the  finding  of  the  skeletons  is  not  first-hand,  and  the  narrator  is 
not  inclined  to  attribute  the  apparition  seen  "  to  other  than  natural 
causes."    The  story,  however,  is  quoted  here  in  order  that  readers  may 
he  in  a  position  to  judge  of  the  evidence  for  themselves.     We  received 
the  original  account  from  Mr.  T.  J.  Nonas,  Tempe,  Dalkey,  Ireland. 

G.  156. 

October  17th,  1883. 

I  send  you  particulars  of  an  apparition  seen  by  three  sons  of  the  late 
Her.  E.  L.,  for  many  years  incumbent  of  this  parish,  and  by  him  related 
tome. 

About  30  years  ago,  Mr.  L.'s  three  eldest  sons  went  to  spend  the  evening 
oat,  and  on  their  return  home  they  saw,  near  Glasthun  (a  village  between 
Kingstown  and  this),  three  figures  rise  from  the  ground  to  a  few 
feet  above  the  ground,  and  then  slowly  vanish  into  air.  One  saw 
it  and  called  the  attention  of  the  others.  They  told  their  father  on 
their  return,  but  he  treated  it  as  a  delusion,  and  silenced  them  by 
his  declared  belief  that  it  was  a  spirituous,  not  a  spiritual,  appearance. 

They  all  entered  either  army  or  navy,  and  were  absent  when,  in  sinking 
the  foundations  of  a  house,  they1  came  upon  three  skeletons.  On  the  return 
to  Ireland  of  one  of  his  sons,  Mr.  L.  got  him  to  point  out  where  they  had 
seen  the  appearance,  and  he  pointed  out  the  very  place  where  the  bodies  had 
been  found. 

Major  L.,  one  of  the  percipients,  writes  to  us  in  1884  : — 

On  a  fine  clear  night  many  years  ago,  I  and  a  brother  walked  homo 
between  10  and  11  o'clock,  after  spending  the  evening  with  some  friends.  On 
our  way  along  the  high  road  we  passed  a  small  villa,  situated  close  to  the  sea 
shore ;  an  open,  level  grass  lawn  lay  in  front,  reaching  to  the  road  where  we 
stood,  from  which  it  was  divided  by  a  low  wall.  The  lawn  was  enclosed  on 
either  aide  by  walls  and  small  trees,  the  house  being  in  the  open  space  directly 
opposite  to  us,  about  160  or  200  yards  distant.     Our  attention  was  somehow 

1  The  workmen.— F.  P. 


236  Phantasms  of  the  Dead  [Nov.  29, 

attracted,  and  we  saw  what  appeared  to  be  three  indistinct  figures  in  white, 
which  seemed  to  rise  as  it  were  from  the  ground  in  front  of  the  villa.  The 
figure  in  the  centre  was  taller  than  the  others.  We  watched  for  some  time 
and  finally  the  figures  subsided  just  as  they  had  risen.  I  think  there  was  a 
slight  declivity  in  the  ground  close  to  the  house,  which  was  probably  built  on 
a  lower  level,  and  thus  the  effect  described  might  be  accounted  for  if  figures 
had  approached  from  the  base  of  the  house.  There  were  many  houses  in 
the  immediate  vicinity,  but,  so  far  as  I  can  remember,  they  were  closed  at 
that  hour,  and  there  were  no  people'  about.  I  feel  almost  certain  also  that 
the  villa  was  not  then  occupied,  unless  it  may  have  been  by  a  caretaker. 

On  arrival  at  home  we  related  what  we  had  seen,  and  were  of  course 
laughed  at,  and  indeed  the  matter  did  not  make  much  impression  upon  us, 
and  in  a  short  time  passed  from  our  minds.  Some  years  afterwards  I  was 
serving  abroad  with  my  regiment  when  I  received  a  letter  from  a  member  of 
my  family  who  was  present  on  the  occasion  referred  to,  recalling  my  memory 
to  it,  and  stating  that  the  lawn  had  recently  been  broken  up,  that  in  the  spot 
indicated  by  us  three  skeletons  had  been  found,  and  that  the  one  in  the 
centre  was  the  tallest.  I  should  add  that  there  was  no  story  or  legend 
associated  with  the  place,  that  the  discovery  of  the  skeletons  caused  much 
surprise,  and  that,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  no  clue  has  been  found  to  their 
identity  or  history. 

In  reply  to  our  questions  Major  L.  writes  : — 

1st.  The  night  was  very  clear  and  bright.  Whether  the  moon  was  actually 
shining  I  cannot  positively  remember,  but  I  think  it  probable. 

2nd.  My  approximate  distance  from  the  figures  was  perhaps  a  little  over 
100  yards.  I  feel  sure  that  what  I  saw  was  not  an  effect  of  mist  rising  from 
damp  ground. 

3rd.  I  have  never  before  had  any  experience  of  the  sort,  or  been  the 
subject  of  any  hallucination  that  I  am  aware  of.  Nor  am  I  in  this  instance 
inclined  to  attribute  the  circumstance  which  I  have  narrated  to  other  than 
natural  causes.  The  discovery  of  tho  skeletons  was  a  very  remarkable 
coincidence,  but  it  may  be  nothing  more. 

We  have  also  received  a  precisely  similar  account  of  the  incident 
from  the  son  of  the  other  percipient — now  dead. 

(4)  In  nearly  all  the  second-hand  narratives,  and  in  a  very  large 
proportion  of  those  which  have  been  given  to  us  by  the  actual  percipi- 
ents, a  tragedy  is  reported  to  have  taken  place  in  the  locality  where 
the  manifestations  occurred.  The  tragedy  may  take  the  form  of  a 
premature  death,  a  murder,  a  suicide,  sometimes  the  death  of  a  miser. 
The  account  of  the  tragedy  is  often  very  circumstantial ;  but  usually 
rests  upon  tradition  alone.  It  is  manifest,  therefore,  that  until  some 
proof  of  the  deatli  has  been  adduced,  we  cannot  assume  the  report 
to  afford  evidence  of  more  than  the  tendency  of  tradition  to  conform  to 
preconceived  ideas  of  the  general  fitness  of  things.  In  one  case,  indeed 
(Proceedings,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  106-7),  the  narrator  states  that  he  had  himself 
searched  the  parish  registers,  and  ascertained  the  date  of  the  death, 
or  rather  deaths,  the  tragedy  in  this  case  taking  the  form  of  a  murder, 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  237 

and  the  subsequent  suicide  of  the  murderer.  The  month  and  day 
were  stated  to  correspond  with  the  date  of  the  appearance  of  the 
phantasm.  As  was  stated,  however,  in  the  Journal  (Vol.  II.,  p.  3), 
a  prolonged  and  careful  search  of  the  registers  has  failed  to  corroborate 
our  informant's  statement;  and  we  have  learnt  from  another  source  that 
the  double  event  referred  to  never  took  place;  and  that  the  alleged 
murderer  actually  died  in  another  part  of  the  country,  and  at  another 
time  of  year.  There  are,  however,  a  few  cases  in  which  the  death,  though 
no  valid  evidence  for  it  is  adduced,  is  alleged  to  have  taken  place  so 
recently  that  there  is  perhaps  a  reasonable  presumption  that  the  facts 
are  correctly  stated.  v  Some  of  these  cases  will  be  referred  to  later. 
There  are  also  a  few  cases  in  which  we  have  sufficient  evidence  that  the 
death  did  occur  as  alleged.  In  one  such  case  (G.  182,  Journal,  Vol.  II., 
pp.  385,  et  seq.),  the  evidence  is  furnished  by  a  tombstone  in  the  parish 
churchyard ;  and  it  seems  not  unlikely  that  the  tragedy,  thus  solidly 
and  obtrusively  attested,  may  actually  have  been  the  cause  of  the 
disturbances  in  the  house,  though  not  in  the  precise  manner  suggested 
in  the  narrative.  Three  other  cases  are  given  below  (G.  187,  188, 189), 
and  it  will  be  seen  that  in  at  least  two  of  these  cases  the  facts  of  the 
life  and  death  were  within  the  knowledge  of  the  percipients,  and  the 
person  whom  the  phantasm  was  supposed  to  resemble  had  been 
known  personally  to  some  of  those  present  in  the  house. 

To  sum  up  :  The  characteristics  which  we  should  expect  to  find 
associated  with  these  manifestations,  if  they  are  actually  connected 
with  deceased  persons,  do  not,  it  would  seem,  occur  at  all,  or  occur 
very  rarely.  The  appearance  of  these  characteristics  in  some  of  the 
narratives  now  under  review  is  due,  in  at  least  one  case,  to  deliberate 
hoaxing  (G.  173) ;  in  a  few  other  cases,  as  in  Proceedings,  Vol.  I.,  pp. 
106-7,  they  may  reasonably  be  attributed  to  hallucinations  of  memory. 
Most  commonly,  however,  they  appear  to  be  the  result  of  unconscious 
misrepresentation  by  the  narrator  of  the  experiences  of  others.  From 
another  point  of  view  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  strong  testimony  to  the 
general  accuracy  and  trustworthiness  of  the  first-hand  narratives  which 
we  have  received  that,  in  spite  of  the  urgent  temptation  to  embellish- 
ment thus  demonstrated,  these  characteristics  so  rarely  occur.  Con- 
versely, when  they  do  occur  they  must  from  their  very  rarity  be 
regarded  with  reserve. 

But  we  may  learn  much,  not  only  from  what  we  fail  to  find,  but 
from  what  we  actually  do  find  in  the  best  attested  narratives.  We  have 
seen  that  the  authentic  ghost  with  any  characteristics  to  distinguish 
him  from  a  subjective  hallucination  is  rarely  recognised  :  that  he  rarely 
brings  any  message  from  the  dead  to  the  living  :  that  his  connection 
with  skeletons  and  tragedies  is  obscure  and  uncertain.  He  is,  in  fact, 
usually  a  fugitive  and  irrelevant  phantasm.      He  "flits  as  idl^j  &&TO3& 


238  Phantasms  of  the  Dead  [Nov.  29,     ' 

the  scene  as  the  figure  cast  by  a  magic  lantern,   and  he  possesses, 
apparently,  as  little  purpose,  volition,  or  intelligence. 

Often  his  appearance  is  so  brief  and  so  unsubstantial  that  he  can 
be  called  little  more  than  the  suggestion  of  a  figure.  He  bears  as  little 
resemblance  to  the  aggrieved  miser,  the  repentant  monk,  the  unquiet  - 
spirit  of  the  murderer  or  his  victim,  with  whom  the  teachers  of  our 
childhood  and  the  dinner-parties  of  our  maturer  years  have  made  us 
familiar,  as  the  Dragons  whom  Siegfried  slew  bear  to  the  winged  lizards 
whose  bones  lie  buried  in  the  Sussex  Weald.  Moreover,  there  are  cer- 
tain constantly  recurring  characteristics  in  these  stories  which  are 
difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  hypothesis  that  the  apparitions  are  due  to 
any  external  agency,  and  which  seem  to  point  to  another  explanation. 

(1)  It  frequently  happens  that  the  apparition  assumes  a  different 
shape  at  different  times,  or  to  speak  more  accurately,  that  different  figures 
are  seen  in  the  same  house.  And  even  when  the  different  narrators  repre- 
sent the  figures  seen  as  being  on  all  occasions  identical,  examination  of 
their  evidence  makes  this  identity  doubtful.  Impressions  so  momentary 
as  these  must  of  necessity  be  very  vague  and  elusive  in  the  subsequent 
memory.      The  details  are  likely   to  be   filled   in   after  hearing  the 
descriptions  of  others;    so  that  features  discerned  or  believed  to  bo 
common  become  more  definite  in  recollection  and  discrepancies  tend  to 
disappear.      In  short,   the  image  which  remains  in  the  memories  of  oM 
the  percipients  is  apt  to  resemble  a  composite  photograph,  in  which  aH 
the  common  features  are  emphasised,  and  details  found  only  in  indi- 
vidual cases  are  blurred  or  faintly  indicated.     Sometimes,  however,  tltf 
diverse  character  of  the  ghost  is  no  matter  of  inference.       Thus  in 
G.  t.  314  (Journal,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  241,  et  seq.),  the  dress  of  a  female 
figure  is  variously  described   by  different    witnesses   as    "greyish  or 
mauve,"  "lilac  print,"  "white,"  "light,"  "red,"  "slate  coloured  silk  with 
red  cloak";  and  the  hair  is  described  as  "fair,"  "dark,"  "brown,"  and 
"brownish."  The  events  occurred  in  the  years  1885-6-7,  and  the  accounts 
were  written,  in  some  cases,  within  a  few  weeks  of  their  occurrence. 
If   a   longer   interval  had  been  allowed  to  elapse  between  the  events 
and  their  record,  it  would  seem  not  improbable  that  this  more  than 
Homeric   latitude  of   colour-epithets   might   have   been    blended  into 
uniformity.     From  the  same  narrative   it  appears  that,  in  addition  to 
the  polychromatic  figure  or  figures  referred  to  above,  there  were  seen 
in  the  same  house  by  various  percipients  a  man  with  an  evil  face  in  a 
white  working  suit;  "a   dark  swarthy-looking  man  with  very  black 
whiskers,  dressed  like  a  merchant,  sailor,"  and  a  "devilish  face"  and 
hands  with  no  body  attached.     In  G.  16  the  narrator  and  others  see  at 
one   time   the    tall   slender    figure  of  a   woman  dressed  in  black,  at 
another  time  a  short  lady  in  a  dark  green  dress ;  in  G.  316  we  hear  of 
"  a   clergyman    dressed    in  his  clericals,"  and  a  woman ;    in   G.  388 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  239 

a  woman  in  white  and  a  woman  in  green  ;  in  G.  454  a  little  girl  "  in 
white,  with  long  streaming  fair  hair,"  "  a  man  in  a  scarlet  hunting-coat 
and  top-boots,"  and  a  tall  lady  with  a  child  in  her  arms.  In  G.  463  we 
have "  a  trim  little  page  in  antique  costume,"  a  man  with  blood- 
stained face,  and  a  woman  in  short-waisted  dress  and  broad  frilled  cap ; 
in  6.  468  a  man  with  a  face  "  pale  to  sickliness,"  and  a  little  old  lady. 
And  in  G.  168  we  make  the  acquaintance,  successively,  of  an  old 
man,  a  large  white  "  waddlewayed  "  dog,  "  a  white  figure  "  not  more 
precisely  described,  a  stout  middle-aged  woman  with  large  flapping 
frills  and  a  baby,  and  a  shower  of  blood.  (See  also  G.  19,  64,  73,  179, 
181, 183,  407,  440,  477,  G.  t.  301,  and  below  G.  186,  189.)  In  two  out 
of  the  very  small  number  of  cases  in  which  we  have  been  able  to  trace 
the  occurrence  of  visual  phenomena  in  the  same  house  through  two  or 
more  successive  tenancies,  the  character  of  the  figures  is  found  to  vary. 
(See  G.  181,  Journal,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  249,  et  seq.3  and  G.  187  below. 
See  also  Proceedings,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  117,  148.) 

In  G.  146  and  G.  t.  303,  308  it  is  by  no  means  clear  that  the 
apparitions  seen  on  different  occasions  bore  any  marked  resemblance* 
And  speaking  generally,  the  identity  of  the  figures  seen  in  many  cases 
is  rather  assumed  from  the  absence  of  recorded  variations  than 
demonstrated  by  any  detailed  agreement  in  the  accounts  received  by 
us  \  the  descriptions  given  by  different  witnesses  being  frequently  too 
▼ague  to  admit  of  any  precise  comparison. 

Of  course,  it  may  be  argued  that  each  figure  corresponds  to  a 
separate  agent,  and  that  when  many  diverse  apparitions  are  seen  in 
one  locality, we  may  infer  that  that  locality  is  haunted  by  many  different 
ghosts.  It  is  impossible  at  present  to  prove  that  this  is  not  the  true 
explanation  of  the  facts.  Indeed,  if  our  imaginary  interlocutor  were  to 
develope  his  hypothesis  yet  further,  and  contend  that  every  so-called 
subjective  hallucination  is  due  to  post-mortem  agency  of  some  kind  or 
another,  I  should  be  at  a  loss  to  prove  his  position  untenable.  But  it 
is  clear  that  in  a  serious  argument  the  burden  of  proof  would  lie  upon 
him  who  invoked  an  unknown  agency ;  and  it  is  obvious  that  the 
characteristic  which  first  drew  attention  to  the  phenomena  occurring 
in  "  haunted  "  houses,  and  which  more  than  any  other  still  induces  us 
to  attach  weight  to  the  records,  is  the  alleged  resemblance  between  the 
various  appearances.  If  this  resemblance  can  in  any  case  be  shown  to 
rest  on  insufficient  evidence,  the  explanation  by  subjective  hallucination 
^ill  appear  the  easier  alternative.  And  the  argument  in  favour  of 
adopting  this  explanation  will  be  perceptibly  strengthened  if  we  find 
that  the  primary  percipient  or  one  of  the  percipients  has  had  previous 
hallucinatory  experiences.  The  popular  instinct  to  assimilate  the 
various  apparitions  is,  no  doubt,  founded  on  a  true  appreciation  of  the 
bearing  of  the  evidence. 


240  Phantasms  of  the  Dead  [Nov.  29, 

■ 

(2)  Again,  figures  of  animals  are  seen  occasionally  in  the  same  house 
with  human  figures.  Thus  in  G.  38,  at  one  time  the  figure  seen  is  that 
of  a  man  in  black,  at  another  that  of  a  black  dog ;  in  G.  101  the  figure 
of  a  man  and  a  white  cat ;  in  G.  467  another  white  cat  is  seen,  and  a 
lady  in  deep  mourning.  ((7/1  G.  43  and  168.)  In  other  cases  animals 
appear  alone,  without  the  accompaniment  of  human  figures.  Thus,  in 
G.  34  the  house  was  haunted  by  a  spectral  tabby  cat,  described  as  "a 
very  miserable  and  unhappy  looking  creature,"  which  found  a  melancholy 
diversion  in  suddenly  appearing  before  the  cook  and  causing  her  to 
stumble.  In  G.  54,  which  I  quote  as  an  illustration,  a  figure  resembling 
a  bull  is  seen  by  two  persons  simultaneously.  Mrs,  Potter  writes  on 
December  6th,  1874  :— 

G.  54. 

The  Rake. 

Returning  from  church,  my  husband  camo  to  meet  me  at  the  Wynt-gate. 
Instead  of  going  straight  home,  we  went  along  the  walk  leading  to  the  Dun- 
geon, and  as  it  commenced  raining,  we  sheltered  under  one  of  the  fine  old 
trees  overhanging  the  path.  We  had  not  stood  many  minutes  when  we  saw  a 
large  beast,  coming  straight  towards  us.  My  husband,  thinking  it  was  one 
of  the  beasts  from  the  park,  met  it,  saying,  "  Get  out,  you  beast,"  striking  at 
it,  when,  to  our  astonishment,  it  disappeared  like  a  shadow.  I  must  mention 
that  we  had  a  small  dog  with  us.  The  night  was  a  sort  of  grey  light,  and  the 
animal  seemed  to  come  from  the  Dungeon  ;  in  fact,  we  thought  it  quite  close 
upon  us.  We  were  not  afraid,  and  both  thought  that  it  was  delusion  or  a  reflec- 
tion at  the  time;  it  was  after  that  I  felt  timid  about  it,  and  never  dared 
venture  near  the  old  castle  again,  where  I  had  spent  many  happy  moments  by 
myself. 

Elizabeth  Potter. 

Benjamin  Potter. 

The  above  happened  in  1858. 

Miss  Gladstone  (now  Mrs.  Drew)  wrote  to  Lady  Rayleigh,  from 
Ha  warden,  on  December  9th,  1874  : — 

It  has  taken  a  long  time  to  get  the  old  castle  (story)  from  the  Potters. 
.  .  .  .  I  see  they  have  omitted  to  specify  that  it  happened  in  September, 
about  a  quarter  to  eight  o'clock,  and  that  the  "beast"  was  apparently  a 
bull.  .  .  .  The  Potters  have  left  out  several  details  in  their  account 
which  I  remember,  and  I  suppose  they  have  forgotten.  The  animal  came  so 
close  that  she  sprang  back  and  screamed,  but  he  said,  "All  right,"  and  kicked 
at  it  with  the  words,  "Get  out,  you  beast." 

In  a  later  letter  Mrs.  Drew  adds  : — 

Remember,  the  old  castle,  &c,  stands  in  the  garden,  within  the  rails, 
so  no  cattle,  or  sheep,  or  horses  come  inside  the  grounds.  No,  there  is  no 
ghost  story  otherwise  about  the  old  castle  that  I  know  of. 

With  this  account  compare  G.  123,  142,  and  608  (second-hand), 
although  it  is  not  clear  that  in  these  cases  the  object  seen  may  not 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  241 

have  been  a  real  animal.  The  narratives  numbered  O.  124,  125,  144, 
(third-hand),  161,  and  373  also  deal  with  apparitions  of  animals. 

In  many  cases  mysterious  lights  are  seen  as  well  as  figures  of  men 
or  animals.  (See  G.  19,  63,  76,  148,  163,  168,  383,  G.  t.  4,  and  many 
others.) 

No  doubt  many  of  those  who  have  recorded  experiences  of  this  kind 
hold  that,  as  the  figures  of  men  may  be  assumed  to  represent  in  some 
sort  the  "  ghosts  "  of  human  beings,  so  the  figures  of  animals  may 
represent  the  ghosts  of  animals.  The  difficulties  of  such  an  interpreta- 
tion are  obvious,  but  they  need  not  be  discussed  at  length  here.  Most 
students  of  the  subject,  at  any  rate,  are  agreed  that  the  actual  phe- 
nomena are  hallucinatory ;  and  it  is  not  necessary,  therefore,  to  ascribe 
figures  resembling  animals  to  the  agency  of  animals.  It  is  at  all  events 
permissible  to  suppose  that  these  figures  are  the  products  of  some  higher 
intelligence.  And  such  a  supposition  is  obviously  necessary  in  the  case 
of  the  hallucinatory  lights  and  inanimate  objects  generally. 

Bat  if  once  this  supposition  is  admitted,  the  outworks  of  the  theory 
dfotLmortem  agency  are  destroyed.  To  the  popular  mind  the  things 
seen  are  what  they  represent;  the  figure  of  a  man  is  the  ghostly  counter- 
part of  a  man,  having  a  definite  substance  and  extension  in  space  ;  and 
so  the  figure  of  an  animal  is  the  ghost  of  an  animal.  The  instructed 
adherents  of  the  post-mortem  theory  reject  this  crude  view ;  but, 
nevertheless,  their  position  derives  its  main  support  from  an  assump- 
tion which  is  in  essence  indistinguishable  from  it — the  assumption,  to 
wit,  that  the  hallucinatory  figure  necessarily  bears  some  resemblance 
to  the  person  by  whose  agency  it  is,  on  the  hypothesis,  produced.  But 
if  the  figures  of  animals  may  be,  and  the  figures  of  inanimate  objects 
mtut  be  produced  by  a  cause  unlike  themselves,  what  ground  have  we 
for  assuming  resemblance  in  the  first  case  ?  And  if  no  such  ground 
can  be  shown — if  it  be  admitted  that  the  agent  may  produce  images 
unlike  himself — why  should  we  restrict  our  choice  of  an  agent  in  any 
case  J  Why  should  we,  in  any  case,  seek  the  agent  amongst  the  dead,, 
▼homwe  do  not  know,  rather  than  amongst  the  living,  of  whose 
existence  and  powers  wo  are  assured  ? 

(3)  Another  very  noteworthy  feature  in  the  well-attested  narratives 
u  that  in  many  cases  one  or  more  of  the  percipients  have  experienced 
other  hallucinations,  which  may  or  may  not  have  been  shared  by  others. 
Thus  in  G.  184,  305,  476,1  G.t.  7,  316  (Journal,  Vol.  III.,  p.  292),  and 
G.c.  8,  one  of  the  percipients  in  a  collective  case,  and  in  G.  187 
(below  p.  267)  two  percipients  out  of  three,  have  had  previous  visual 
hallucinations  unshared.     In   G.c.  Ill,   the  percipient  describes  four 


1  Two  different  stories  bear  this  number  ;  the  one  here  referred  to  is  that  printed 
in  the  Journal  t or  May,  IBM. 


242  .    Phantasms  of  the  Dead    .  [Nov.  29, 

visual  hallucinations,  two  of  which  were  collective  and  two  unshared. 
In  G.  314  and  315  the  narrator  describes  two  collective  hallucinations 
of  his  own  experience.  One  of  the  two  percipients  in  a  collective 
hallucination  (G.  334)  has  also  lived  in  a  "  haunted  "  house  (G.  333). 
And  passing  from  collective  to  what  may  perhaps  be  termed 
** successive"  cases — i.e.,  non-collective  cases  of  the  ordinary  "haunted 
house  "  type,  where  a  figure  is  seen  on  different  occasions  in  the  same 
locality — we  find  that  in  G.  328  and  395  one  of  the  percipients  in 
each  case  has  had  another  visual  hallucination  ;  and  in  G.c.  313,  a  lady 
who  was  fortunate  enough  as  a  child  to  see  Queen  Elizabeth  in  a  house 
in  the  Old  Kent-road  has  also  sent  us  accounts  of  other  hallucinations, 
experienced  by  her,  not  shared  by  others. 

And  finally  we  have  a  large  number  of  cases  in  which  the  same  per- 
cipient or  group  of  percipients  has  witnessed  inexplicable  phenomena, 
visual  or  auditory,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  and  in  more  than  one 
locality.  (SeeG.  7  and  41,  14  and  104,  40,  101  and  114,  108,  116, 
464,  5  and  6,  475  and  6,  and  lastly  468,  474,  and  G.c.  310.) 

There  are  indications  that  this  tendency  to  hallucination  is 
hereditary.  In  G.  169,  for  instance,  an  unshared  hallucination  is 
reported  of  a  lady,  whose  two  sisters  contribute  similar  experiences  of 
their  own  in  another  house  (Proceedings,  Vol.  L,  pp.  109-113).  In  G.  318 
.and  319,  various  visual  hallucinations,  all  unshared,  are  reported  to 
have  been  experienced  by  two  sisters  ;  in  353  and  354,  unshared 
hallucinations  are  reported  of  a  father  and  daughter  respectively ;  and 
Mrs.  V.  S.,  one  of  the  percipients  in  G.  468,  474,  and  G.c.  310, 
resided  in  another  house  (G.  469),  where  not  she  herself,  but  her  two 
daughters,  saw  hallucinatory  figures.  The  daughters  have  also  had 
other  experiences  of  the  kind. 

These  cases,  however — and  it  is  probable  that  there  are  othens 
which  I  have  passed  over  in  an  examination  by  no  means  exhaustive — 
must  be  taken  only  as  samples. 

In  very  few  cases  in  our  collection  have  we  succeeded  in  obtaining 
the  first-hand  testimony  of  all  the  witnesses.  Had  we  done  so,  I  can 
feel  no  doubt  that  we  should  be  able  to  point  to  a  much  larger 
number  of  cases  in  which  the  percipient's  experience  in  a  haunted 
house  had  been  anticipated  by  a  solitary  hallucination  apparently 
subjective. 

Thus,  while  on  the  one  hand  we  have  found  very  little  trustworthy 
evidence  to  connect  the  phantasm  seen  in  a  haunted  house  with  any 
person  deceased ;  very  little,  indeed,  to  suggest  the  intelligence,  the 
personality,  or  even  the  continuity  of  the  underlying  cause,  there 
are  many  constantly  recurring  features  in  the  best  authenticated 
of  the  narratives  under  review  which  are  very  hard  to  reconcile  with 
any  such  hypothesis.     It  is   difficult,  tor  instance,   to  recognise  the 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  243 

identity  of  a  phantasm  which,  as  in  G.  168,  presents  itself  now  under 
the  guise  of  an  old  man,  now  as  a  middle-aged  woman  with  flapping 
frills  and  a  baby,  and  occasionally  as  a  "  waddlewayed  "  dog,  a  white 
figure,  or  a  shower  of  blood.  Unless,  indeed,  we  suppose,  with  one  of 
the  most  ingenious  of  our  critics,1  that  ghosts  suffer  from  a  want  of 
coordination  between  the  sub-conscious  cerebral  centres,  and  that  these 
Protean  transformations  are  the  result  of  aphasic  attempts  to  render 
themselves  intelligible. 

Seriously,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  fact  that  the  figures  seen 
in  a  haunted  house  are  apt  to  assume  at  different  times  different  forms, 
including  those  of  animals  and  vague  lights,  suggests  that  the  pheno- 
mena are  due,  not  to  an  alien  spiritual  presence,  but  to  some  predis- 
position to  hallucination  on  the  part  of  the  percipients.  And  the 
numerous  cases  in  which  it  can  be  shown  that  the  percipients  have 
experienced  other  hallucinations  of  various  kinds,  shared  and  unshared, 
give  strong  confirmation  to  this  view.  If  the  possibility  be  once 
admitted  that  a  casual  hallucination  may  not  only  be  repeated  in  the 
experience  of  the  original  percipient,  but  may  be  communicated  by  him 
to  other  persons  living  in  the  same  locality,  most  of  the  difficulties  in 
the  interpretation  of  our  evidence  disappear.  In  the  great  majority  of 
cases  expectation  or  terror,  when  once  the  first  vision  is  bruited  abroad, 
might  be  sufficient  to  account  for  its  repetition,  and  the  greater  or  less 
resemblance  which  the  experience  of  later  percipients  bore  to  that  of 
the  original  seer  would  be  attributable  to  hints  of  the  original  appear- 
ance unconsciously  received  or  half  forgotten.  In  the  cases,  not  very 
numerous,  where  there  seems  to  be  some  proof  that  no  hint  of  any  former 
experience  had  reached  the  percipient,2  it  is  still  possible  to  suppose  that 
any  resemblance  between  the  earlier  and  later  apparitions,  if  sub- 
stantiated, is  due  to  the  operation  of  thought-transference. 

I  proceed  to  give  various  narratives  as  illustrations,  beginning  with 
three  eases  where  there  seems  reason  to  attribute  the  apparition  wit- 
nessed by  a  single  person  to  fear,  expectation,  or,  generally,  the 
emotional  state  of  the  percipient. 

The  following  case  has  been  received  from  Mr.  Joseph  Skipsey,  the 
miner  poet,  now  custodian  of  the  Shakespeare  Museum  at  Stratford- 
°n-A?on. 

G.c.  613. 

When  I  was  10  years  old,  working  in  the  pit  at  Percy  Main  Colliery, 
near  North  Shields,  I  yoked  a  horse  to  a  train  of  roDing  waggons  and  waited 
at  a  aiding,  a  spot  on  which  some  30  years  before  a  man  had  been  killed.     I 

1  Mr.  Andrew  Lang,  in  Cattle  Perilous. 

1  See  fOT  a  collection  of  some  of  these,  Mrs.  Sidgwick's  paper  on  "Phantasms  of 
the  Dead,"  in  Proceeding*,  Vol.  III. 


244  Phantom*  of  the  Dead  [Not.  29, 

had  frequently  been  at  this  point  before  without  thinking  about  this  circum- 
stance. ITpon  this  morning  it  suddenly  occurred  to  me  strongly  that  this 
tragedy  had  happened  ;  I  felt  afraid  and  blew  my  light  out  lest  I  should  see 
anything.  A  few  minutes  afterwards  everything  around  me  became  visible — 
tbts  coal-wall,  the  horse,  «fcc.  I  was  astonished  at  this  because  there  was  no 
visible  source  of  light.  I  then  heard  a  footstep  coming  and  saw  along  the 
drift-way  a  pair  of  legs  in  short  breeches,  as  a  miner's  would  be,  and  hands 
hanging  down  the  sides.  The  upper  part  of  the  advancing  figure  was  shrouded 
in  cVahL  The  figure  carried  no  light.  This  imperfect  figure  came  to  me, 
took  hold  of  me,  and  I  felt  a  man's  grip,  but  I  also  felt  that  it  was  friendly. 
It  fondled  me,  and  I  felt  both  the  hands  and  the  body.  I  looked  earnestly 
for  the  face  but  saw  nothing  but  dark  cloud.  Then  the  figure  passed  me  and 
disappeared.  I  felt  paralysed  and  unable  to  speak.  I  felt  no  fear  after  it  had 
left  me,  and  I  often  went  to  the  same  place  but  saw  nothing. 

On  my  telling  this  to  Tom  Gilbis,  a  miner  friend,  he  told  me  that  he  had 
seen  a  light  in  a  hand  in  a  tramway  in  another  mine,  but  no  body.    The  light 

swung  round  and  disappeared. 

Joseph  Sktpsbt. 
December  13ih,  1884. 

The  obvious  explanation  of  the  experience  narrated  is  that  it  is  a 
simple  hallucination,  rounded,  perhaps,  into  a  more  perfect  whole 
in  the  memory  of  an  old  man  recounting  a  vision  of  his  childhood. 
The  hallucination  may  well  have  been  due  to  terror,  caused  by  the  awe- 
inspiring  surroundings — a  terror  of  which  sufficient  evidence  is  given  by 
the  percipient's  action  in  blowing  out  his  light.  It  would  not,  perhaps, 
be  hazardous  to  conjecture  that  under  favourable  circumstances  the 
story,  if  widely  reported,  might  have  given  rise  to  a  whole  crop  of  more 
or  less  similar  apparitions,  material  for  the  story  of  a  haunted  mine. 

In  the  next  case  (G.  174),  which  is  extracted  from  A  Highland  Tour 
with  Dr.  Caruttuh  (second  edition,  pp.  85-88),  by  Dr.  A.  Beith,  a  well- 
known  minister  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  the  percipient's  visual 
hallucination  or  dream  appears  to  have  nearly  coincided  with  a  noise 
heard  by  two  other  persons  as  well  as  himself.  It  seems  not  improb- 
able that  the  noise  heard  was  due  to  some  normal  agency,  and  was 
itself  the  cause  of  the  vision,  which  in  the  order  of  perception  preceded 
it.  It  may,  for  instance,  conceivably  have  been  caused  by  the  per- 
cipient in  a  state  of  somnambulism.  Dr.  Beith  himself  was  at  first 
inclined  to  attribute  his  experience  to  nightmare,  and  it  is  evident  that 
he  is  by  no  means  clear  that  he  was  actually  awake  until  after  the 
occurrence. 

a    174. 

[This  ovent  took  place  in  the  August  of  1845.     Dr.  Beith  had  been  chosen 

by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  together  with  Drs. 

"Midlish  and  M'Kellar,  to  make  a  tour  of  the  Highlands  and  report  on  the 

adition  of  the  adherents  of  the  Free  Church  in  that  district,  who  were 

the  timo  i/7-cared  for  by  the  State.    Dr.  Beith  was,  on  this  occasion, 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  245 

the  guest  of  Mr.  Lillingston,  of  Lochalsh,  Ross-shire,  for  the  evening. 
After  talking  for  some  time  with  his  host  he  was  shown  to  a  large  bedroom 
on  the  top  flat  of  the  house.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lillingston  slept  on  the 
ground  floor,  so  that  between  their  bedroom  and  his  the  drawing-room  floor 
intervened.  At  the  foot  of  Dr.  Beith's  bed  was  a  large  fireplace,  in  which  the 
dancing  firelight  flung  shadows  on  the  curtains.  Being  very  weary  he  soon 
fell  asleep.] 

I  had  gone  to  bed.  After  a  little  I  fell  asleep,  and  I  slept  I  know  not 
how  long.  Suddenly  I  was  awakened  by  what  I  imagined  was  a  loud  knock 
at  my  door.  I  opened  my  eyes.  The  fire  was  still  burning  ;  but  was  about 
to  expire.  I  called,  "  Come  in."  No  sooner  had  I  done  so  than  I  saw  the  door 
slowly  open.  A  man  of  gigantic  stature,  of  huge  proportions,  red-haired, 
half-dressed,  his  brawny  arms  bare  high  above  the  elbows,  presented  himself 
to  my  view.  I  saw  him  distinctly  advance,  not  towards  me,  but  direct  to  the 
fireplace,  the  glimmering  light  from  the  grate  falling  on  his  massive  frame. 
He  carried  a  large  black  chest,  which  appeared  to  me  to  be  studded  with  brass 
nails  and  to  be  so  heavy  as  to  tax  to  the  utmost  his  strength,  strong  man  as 
he  was.  I  saw  him  pass  the  foot  of  my  bed  as  if  turning  to  the  side  of  the 
fire  next  the  bed.  The  black  chest  seemed  to  grow  into  a  coffin  of  dread 
dimensions.  In  that  form  I  saw  it  but  for  a  moment.  My  bed-curtain  almost 
instantly  concealed  from  my  eyes  the  bearer  and  his  burden.  He  set  it  down 
with  a  crash  which  startled  me,  as  I  thought,  and  which  seemed  to  shake  the 
house,  and,  as  I  believed,  fairly  roused  me,  I  tried  to  look  round  to  the 
fireplace,  but  saw  nothing.  Everything  was  as  I  had  left  it  on  going  into 
bed.  The  vision  had  passed.  In  whatever  condition  I  had  been  previously, 
I  felt  confident  I  was  by  that  time  thoroughly  awake.  Reflecting  on  the 
incident,  I  soon  set  the  whole  thing  down  to  a  fit  of  nightmare,  brought  on, 
perhaps,  by  the  conversation  in  which  I  had  been  so  deeply  interested  before 
retiring  to  rest,  land  which  had  somewhat  excited  my  nervous  system.  In  a 
short  time  I  had  got  over  my  agitation  and  was  composing  myself  to  sleep, 
when  I  again  suddenly  heard  a  knock  at  my  door.  I  raised  myself  on  my 
elbow  with  a  resolution  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  it,  and  said  firmly,  perhaps 
fiercely,  "Come  in."  The  door  opened  and  Mr.  Lillingston  appeared  in  his 
dressing-gown,  a  light  in  his  hand.  As  he  was  in  figure  tall,  though  not 
robust,  and  of  a  reddish  complexion,  his  appearance  slightly  resembled  what 
I  had  previously  seen.  "Have  you  been  ill?"  "No  ;  I  am  quite  well." 
4 'Have  you  been  out  of  bed?"  "No;  I  certainly  have  not  since  I  lay 
down."  "Mrs.  Lillingston  and  I  have  been  disturbed  by  hearing  heavy 
steps  in  your  room,  as  we  thought,  and  by  the  sound  of  the  tailing  of  some 
weighty  article  on  the  floor." 

[At  the  breakfast-table  next  morning  the  engrossing  subject  of  conversa- 
tion was  the  noise  in  Dr.  Beith's  room.  He  did  not  tell  what  he  had  seen. 
The  room  was  examined  lest  some  article  of  furniture  or  a  picture  might 
hive  fallen,  but  both  in  it  and  in  the  drawing-room  below  everything  was  in 
its  place  undisturbed.     Dr.  Beith  goes  on  to  say  : — ] 

I  would  have  forgotten  it  altogether,  but  the  succession  of  deaths  in 
our  family,  just  a  year  after — four  children,  as  already  noted,  being  taken 
from  us  within  a  few  weeks — brought  up  the  remembrance  of  what  I  had 
seen  ;  and  I  felt  a  strange—an  unreasonable  inclination^!  Maife^  *&k£&» 


2441  Phantasms  of  tlu  Dead  [Nov.  29, 

— to  connect  the  two  things,  and  to  conclude  that  what  I  had  witnessed,  in 
the  Balmacara  attic,  was  a  kindly  presentiment  or  pre-intimation  of  sorrow 
to  come. 

I  called  on  Dr.  Beith  on  Sunday,  September  14th,  1884,  and  heard 
an  account  of  the  story  as  above  given  from  his  own  lips. 

Dr.  Beith  believes  himself  to  have  been  awake  at  the  time  the  figure 
entered  the  room.  He  is  quite  clear  that  he  did  not  go  to  sleep  in  the 
interval  between  the  disappearance  of  the  figure  and  the  entrance  of 
Mr.  Lillingston. 

I  asked  him  if  it  were  possible  for  the  whole  thing  to  have  been  a 
trick.  He  explained  to  me  that  the  room  was  a  very  large  one,  with 
the  door  in  the  corner  opposite  to  the  bed,  so  that  no  one  could  enter  or 
leave  the  room  without  being  seen.  The  fireplace  was  by  the  side  of 
the  bed,  whose  curtains  hid  it,  but  when  he  sat  up  in  bed  and  looked 
round  the  curtains  he  satisfied  himself  that  the  figure  was  not  there. 

He  has  never  experienced  a  hallucination,  or  seen  anything  else  of 
the  kind.  He  has,  however,  had  other  psychical  experiences.  Dr. 
Beith  had  never  heard  of  any  other  unusual  experience  in  the  house. 

Another  case  of  an  isolated  phantasm  is,  perhaps,  worth  quoting- 
as  a  curious  example  of  the  survival  of  a  mediaeval  superstition.  There 
is  no  need  here  to  look  beyond  the  emotional  condition  of  the  percipient 
for  the  origin  of  the  hallucination,  its  precise  form  being  determined 
by  her  intellectual  inheritance  and  environment.  The  story  is  in  the 
words  of  the  clergyman  who  visited  the  dying  woman. 

G.  104. 

Aiigxcst  22iidy  1884. 
I  was  once  sent  for  to  see  a  dying  old  woman,  who,  her  daughter  who 
came  to  me  said,  had  something  to  say  before  she  died.  I  saw  that  the 
daughter,  a  middle-aged  woman,  was  full  of  curiosity  to  know  what  her  mother 
had  to  say.  When  I  got  to  the  bedside  of  the  old  woman,  I  endeavoured  to 
persuade  her  that  I  did  not  want  to  hoar  anything,  and  told  the  daughter 
that  she  should  not  trouble  her  mother  by  insisting  upon  hearing  something 
out  of  mere  curiosity,  but  she  kept  saying,  4i  Mother,  you  know  you  said 
you  would  tell  it,  you  promised,"  «fec.  Thus  teased  into  making  a  confession, 
•ho,  in  almost  her  last  breath,  said  that  after  the  funeral  of  her  husband 
sho  returned  to  their  bedroom,  and  (I  use  her  very  words)  "I  saw  a  man 
come  down  that  c/u'wiZe?/,  and  a  better  looking  man  you  never  saw,  and  he 
said,  'If  you  will  serve  mo  you  shall  never  want.'"  I  gathered  that  she 
believed  this  to  bo  tho  devil,  and  sho  resisted  his  offer.  This  proves  to  me 
that  monkish  legends  of  such  apjmritions  are  not  necessarily  lies  of  those  who 
first  gave  them.  The  poor  widow  was  in  a  frenzy  of  desolation,  and  Satanic 
HuggcstionH  took  a  shape,  or  she  fancied  they  did,  and  made  a  lasting  im- 
pression upon  her  mind.  This  story  happened  30  years  ago,  and  an  old 
woman  then,  in  that  class  of  life,  would  retain  much  of  the  ignorance  of  the 
uneducated  in  tho  last  century. 

Hissing  from  these  cases  of  apparently  unshared  hallucination,  which. 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  Vietv.  247 

on  the  view  now  propounded,  may  be  taken  as  the  raw  material  of  ghost 
stories,  we  come  to  a  class  of  cases  where  a  phantasm  is  witnessed  by  two 
or  more  persons  simultaneously.  There-  is,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  no 
evidence  for  collective  hallucination  in  the  normal  state  outside  the  phe- 
nomena which  we  are  now  discussing;  and  it  is  always  open  to  the  critic 
to  maintain  that  the  fact  that  a  percept  is  shared  by  more  than  one 
person  is  in  itself  a  proof  of  its  claim  to  objective  reality  of  some  kind. 
Such  a  critic,  however,  it  may  be  pointed  out,  will  have  to  claim  an 
objective  existence  not  merely  for  apparitions  resembling  the  human 
figure,  but  for  the  bull  seen  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Potter,  the  spectral  cats 
and  dogs,  the  coach  and  horses,  and  the  mysterious  lights  seen  by 
other  witnesses.  But,  at  all  events,  collective  hallucination  may  be 
accepted  as  a  working  hypothesis,  and  if  it  is  found  to  fit  the  facts,  it 
will  have  advanced  one  step  nearer  to  acceptance  as  a  vera  causa.1 
It  is  interesting  to  note,  moreover,  as  bearing  upon  the  question  of  the 
transference  of  hallucinations,  two  cases  in  which  contact  or  vicinity, 
as  in  some  of  our  own  experiments  in  thought-transference,  appears  to 
have  influenced  the  result.  In  G.  118  a  curious  phantasmagoria — 
a  "witch  fire"  with  people  dancing  round  it — which  is  witnessed  by 
|  several  persons,  disappears  on  the  approach  of  a  man  "who,  being 
tan  in  March,  can  never  see  them."  And  in  another  story  (G. 
636),  which,  however,  is  second-hand,  the  narrators  mother  is  said 
to  have  seen  the  figure  of  a  man,  "  but  my  father  protested  that  he 
did  not  see  anybody.  This  surprised  my  mother,  and,  laying  her  hand 
on  my  father  s  shoulder,  she  said,  *  Oh,  George  !  do  you  not  see  him  ? ' 
My  father  thereupon  exclaimed,  *  I  see  him  now  ! '  " 

It  will,  however,  no  doubt,  be  readily  admitted  that  if,  as  suggested 
by  Mr.  Gurney,  a  casual  hallucination,  originating  in  the  mind  of  one 
percipient,  may  by  some  process  of  telepathy  be  transferred  to  others 
in  his  immediate  vicinity,  so  that  they  also  should  share  in  his  percep- 
tion, the  following  are  instances  of  such  collective  hallucinations. 
The  first  narrative  comes  from  Mrs.  Stone,  of  Walditch,  Bridport, 
from  whom  Professor  Sidgwick  received  a  viva  voce  account  of  the 
incident. 

The  date  is  a  little  uncertain,  but  I  think  it  was  the  summer  of  1830.  My 
Gxnin  Emily  was  staying  with  me,  and  my  friend,  Mary  J.,  was  spending  the 
day  with  us.  Emily  said,  "How  pleasant  it  would  be  to  drive  over  and  drink 
to  with  my  father  and  the  girls  this  lovely  afternoon. "  In  a  very  short  time 
we  were  driving  in  a  little  four-wheeled  carriage  to  my  uncle's  vicarage,  at 
fyfling,  about  seven  miles  from  Dorchester.  They  were  all  at  home,  delighted 

1  Tlie  question  has  been  carefully  examined  by  Mr.  Gurney  in  Phantaami  of  the 
&i6*  VcL  II„  pp.  168-270.    See  also  Mr.  Myers'  note,  pp.  277-284. 

El 


248  Phantasms  of  the  Dead  [Nov.  29, 

to  see  us,  and  we  spent  a  most  delightful  evening.  As  there  was  no  moon 
wo  left  early  enough  to  reach  home  before  dark.  A  most  beautiful  evening 
it  was,  and  threo  more  merry  girls  could  hardly  be  met  with.  Just  after 
passing  Wrackleford  the  road  is  rather  elevated.  It  had  been  somewhat 
dusky  before,  but  here  the  evening  glow  showed  the  hedges,  road,  and  all 
near  objects.  There  it  was  that  I  saw  the  figure  of  a  man  on  the  right-hand 
side,  walking,  or  rather  gliding,  at  the  head  of  the  horse.  My  first  idea  was 
that  he  meant  to  stop  us,  but  he  made  no  effort  of  the  kind,  but  kept  on  the 
same  pace  as  the  horse,  neither  faster  nor  slower.  At  first  I  thought  him  of 
great  height,  but  afterwards  remarked  that  he  was  gliding  some  distance  (at 
least  a  foot)  above  the  ground.  Mary  was  sitting  by  me.  I  pointed  out  in  a 
low  voice  the  figure,  but  she  did  not  see  it,  and  could  not  at  any  time  during 
its  appearance.  Emily  was  sitting  by  the  man-servant  on  the  front  seat;  she 
heard  what  I  said,  turned  round,  and  speaking  softly,  "I  see  the  man  you 
mention  distinctly."  Then  the  man-servant  said  in  an  awful,  frightened 
voice,  "  For  God's  sake,  ladies,  don't  say  anything  !  please  keep  quiet !"  or 
words  to  that  effect.  I  had  heard  that  horses  and  other  animals  feel  the 
presence  of  the  supernatural ;  in  this  instance  there  was  no  starting  or  bolt- 
ing ;  the  creature  went  on  at  an  even  pace,  almost  giving  the  idea  of  being 
controlled  by  the  figure  The  face  was  turned  away,  but  the  shape  of  a  man 
in  dark  clothing  was  clearly  defined.  At  the  entrance  of  the  village  of  Char- 
minster  it  vanished,  and  we  saw  it  no  more  ;  though  in  passing  through  the 
dark  parts  of  the  road,  then  shadowed  with  elms,  I  looked  round  in  somo 
little  trepidation.  Wc  could  never  get  much  out  of  the  man-servant,  except 
that  it  was  a  gho3t.  It  has  struck  me  since  whether  he  knew  more  about  it 
than  he  chose  to  say.  He  was  more  terrified  at  the  time  than  either  of  us.  I 
never  heard  the  road  was  haunted. 

P.  S.  —  My  cousin  and  the  man-servant  saw  it  distinctly,  but  my  friend 
was  unable  to  do  so,  though  the  figure  stood  out  plainly  against  the  evening 
light. 

In  January,  1883,  Mrs.  Stone  adds  : — 

My  cousin  Emily  is  not  living.  I  have  lost  sight  of  the  man-servant  for 
many  years. 

Miss  Henrietta  Coombs  writes,  in  August,  1883: — 

In  the  summer  of  185fi  I  was  driving  in  a  pony-carriage  on  the  Wrackle- 
ford road,  when  just  on  the  brow  of  the  little  hill,  before  reaching  the  dairy- 
house,  the  pony  stopped  short  and  shook  all  over,  as  if  violently  frightened. 
I  expected  it  to  start  off,  and  I  got  out  quickly,  as  did  my  cousin  who  was 
with  m a,  the  driver  remaining  in  the  carriage.  My  cousin,  a  military  man, 
and  accustomed  to  horses,  examined  the  pony  and  could  find  no  cause  for 
its  alarm  or  illness.  It  went  on  very  well  afterwards,  and  I  never  heard  that 
it  had  a  similar  attack,  either  before  or  after  that  time.  I  had  forgotten  the 
occurrence  until  I  heard  Mrs,  Stone  speak  of  the  appearance  she  saw  many 
years  before,  when  I  exclaimed,  <%  That  must  bj  the  place  where  our  pony 
was  frightened  in  '50." 

J/2  this  erne,  it  will  be  observed,  owe  ot  U\e  persons  present  saw 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  249 

nothing  unusual,  a  circumstance  which  tells  strongly  in  favour  of  the 
view  that  the  thing  seen  was  of  a  hallucinatory  nature. 

The  next  account  was  given  to  us,  within  a  few  weeks  of  the  occur- 
rence narrated,  by  the  two  ladies  named,  with  one  of  whom  I  have  had 
a  personal  interview, 

G.  185. 

From  Mrs.  Knott,  London,  S.W. 

March  5to,  1889. 

The  incident  I  relate  occurred  at  this  address  early  in  February,  1889.     I 
have  lived  in  this  house  four  years  and  constantly  felt  another  presence 
was  in  the  drawing-room  besides  myself,  but  never  saw  any  form  until  list 
month.    My  cousin  Mrs.  R.  and  myself  returned  from  a  walk  at  1.30  p.m. 
The  front  door   was  opened  for  us  by  my  housekeeper,  Mrs.  E.    I  passed 
upstairs  before  my  cousin,  and  on  turning  to  my  bedroom,  the  door  of  which 
is  beside  the  drawing-room  door  [i.e.,  at  right  angles  to  it],  I  saw,   as  I 
thought,  Mrs.  E.  go  into  the  drawing-room.     I  put  a  parcel  into  my  room 
and  then  followed  hop  to  give  some  order,  and  found  the  room  empty  !     My 
cousin  was  going  up  the  second  flight  of  stairs  to  her  room,  and  I  called 
out,  uDid  you  opan  the  drawing-room  door  as  you  passed  ? "     "  No,"  she 
replied,   "Mrs.  E.  has  gone  in."    Mrs.  R.  had  seen  the  figure  more  dis- 
tinctly than  I ;  it  seemed  to   pass  her  at  the  top  of  the  stairs,  and    she 
thought  "How  quietly  Mrs.  E.  moves."  I  inquired  of  Mrs.  E.  what  she 
did  after  opening  the  door  for  us,  and  she  said,  "  Went  to  the  kitchen  to 
hasten  luncheon  as  you  were  in  a  hurry  for  it."      The  day  was  bright  and 
there  is  nothing  on  the  stairs  that  could  cast  a  shadow.     I  quite  hope  some 
day  I  may  see  the  face  of  the  figure. 

From  Mrs.  R.,  Malpas,  Cheshire. 

March  1st,  1889. 

In  answer  to  your  letter  on  the  subject  of  the  figure  seen  at  C. -terrace, 
Mrs.  K.  and  I  had  just  come  in  at  about  half-past  one  o'clock.  Mrs.  E.  (the 
housekeeper)  had  opened  the  door.  We  went  upstairs,  and  on  the  first  land- 
ing are  two  rooms,one  the  drawing-room,  the  other  Mrs.  K.'s  bedroom.  She 
*ent  into  her  room  while  I  stood  a  minute  or  two  talking  to  her.  Just  as  I 
tamed  to  go  up  the  next  flight  of  stairs  I  thought  I  saw  Mrs.  E.  pass  me 
quickly  and  go  into  the  drawing-room.  Beyond  seeing  a  slight  figure  in  a 
d*rk  dress  I  saw  nothing  more,  for  I  did  not  look  at  it,  but  just  saw  it  pass 
Ne.  Before  I  had  got  upstairs  Mrs.  K.  called  out,  4 '  Did  you  leave 
*he  drawing-room  door  open?"  I  answered,  "I  did  not  go  in ;  I 
**  Mrs.  E.  go  in."  Mrs.  K.  answered,  "  There  is  nobody  there." 
We  asked  Mrs.  E.  if  she  had  been  up  ;  she,  on  the  contrary,  had  gone 
*fo*ightdown.  Also,  as  she  said,  she  would  not  have  passed  me  on  the 
boding,  but  have  waited  until  I  had  gone  upstairs  ;  and  as  it  struck  me 
*ftmcards,  she  could  not  have  passed  me  on  such  a  small  landing  without 
touching  me,  but  I  never  noticed  that  at  the  time.  I  do  not  know  if  a 
thought  ever  embodies  itself,  but  my  idea  was,  and  is,  that  as  Mrs.  E. 
ftQ  downstairs  her  thought  went  up,  wondering  if  the  drawing-room  fire 


250  Phantasms  of  the  Dead  [Nov.  29, 

was  burning  brightly.     The  figure  I  saw  went  into  the  room  as  if  it  hid 
a  purpose  of    some  sort.     I  have  never  seen  anything  of  the  sort  before. 

From  Mrs.  R. 

March  10th,  1889. 

I  am  afraid  I  cannot  give  any  very  definite  reply  to  your  questions. 

(1)  "  Had  I  any  idea  of  the  house  being  haunted  ?  "  No  ;  and  I  do  nob 
think  it  is  supposed  to  be  haunted.  Mrs.  K.  has  said  that  at  times  it  lias 
seemed  to  her  as  if  there  was  someone  else  in  the  room  besides  herself,  but  I 
think  that  is  a  feeling  that  has  come  to  most  peoplo  some  time  or  other. 

(2)  "  Did  we  see  it  simultaneously  ?  "  That  I  cannot  exactly  say,  but  I 
should  think  yes,  for  we  neither  of  us  said  anything  till  Mrs.  K.  called  out 
to  me  to  know  if  I  had  been  in  the  drawing-room. 

I  called  on  Mrs.  Knott  with  Major  Jebb,  on  February  27th,  1889, and 
heard  her  account  of  the  incident,  and  inspected  the  landing  where  the 
figure  was  seen.  The  landing  is  very  small  and  narrow,  but  well 
lighted  by  a  wide  uncurtained  window  at  the  top  of  the  stairway, 
between  the  first  and  second  floors.  The  figure  was  seen  on  the  first 
floor.  A  real  person  could  not  have  passed  the  two  ladies  on  the  stairs 
without  considerable  difficulty,  and  it  seems  impossible  that  a  real 
person  could  have  passed  out  of  the  room  again  without  detection. 

Mrs.  Knott  has  occupied  rooms  in  the  same  house  for  about  three 
and  a-half  years. 

Here  we  may  almost  see  the  story  of  a  haunted  house  in  the  making. 
The  essential  elements  are  there.  We  have  the  visionary  figure  seen  by 
two  persons  at  once,  and  the  mysterious  feeling  of  an  alien  presence  in 
the  room.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the  latter  circumstance  would  have 
passed  unrecorded,  and  even  unnoticed,  but  for  the  subsequent  phantasm, 
through  which  it  gained  a  retrospective  importance.  It  is  not  im- 
probable that  in  this  case  the  phantasm  was  a  hallucination  actually 
generated  by  the  same  state  which  gave  rise  to  the  eerie  feelings ;  as  in 
other  cases  the  phantasm  may  have  been  the  product  of  the  uneasiness 
and  vague  alarm  caused  by  inexplicable  noises.  That  there  is  a  con- 
stant tendency  for  mysterious  sounds  to  bring  visual  hallucinations  in 
their  train  we  see  in  many  of  the  stories.  And  what  the  experience  of 
the  moment  has  failed  to  produce,  the  narrator's  imagination  after  the 
lapse  of  many  years  may  sometimes  prove  competent  to  supply.  In  the 
story,  for  instance,  printed  in  the  Journal,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  385,  et  seq., 
(G.  182),  to  which  I  have  already  referred  (p.  237),  the  only  pheno- 
mena recorded  on  first-hand  evidence  are  auditor}'.  But  the  narrative 
originally  appeared  in  a  newspaper,  and  as  there  printed  contained 
an  account  at  first-hand  of  an  apparition  of  the  orthodox  kind — 
a  figure  in  military  uniform,  gaunt  and  haggard.  But  the  per- 
cipient was  only  a  child  at  the  time  of  the  alleged  appearance,  and 
the  account  was  published  nearly  half  a  century  afterwards.  In  correct- 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  251 

ing  his  narrative  for  us  he  requested  that  this  episode  might  be  omitted. 
With  a  witness  a  little  less  conscientious  or  a  little  more  imaginative, 
the  figure  might  have  remained  as  the  brightest  ornament  of  the  story. 
The  weakness  of  second-hand  testimony  to  apparitions  is  also  well 
exemplified  in  this  story.  The  same  witness  reported  two  other 
appearances  of  a  headless  woman  at  second-hand.  But  on  going  to  the 
original  sources,  we  find  that  in  neither  case  was  anything  seen ;  a 
horrible  presence  was  felt  on  one  occasion,  and  steps  were  heard  leaving 
the  room  on  the  other. 

The  following  case  (G.  186)  presents  in  many  respects  a  typical 
instance  of  a  good  haunted  house,  and  I  therefore  welcomed  the  oppor- 
tunity afforded  me  in  1888  of  sleeping  in  the  house,  and  of  introducing 
other  members  of  the  Society.  This  unfortunately,  however,  led 
to  no  result.  The  case  is,  as  it  will  be  seen,  very  recent,  and 
apparitions  seem  to  have  been  seen  independently  by  two  people. 
Altogether,  if  any  of  these  cases  of  wholly  unrecognised  apparitions 
haunting  houses  are  to  be  attributed  to  post-mortem  agencies  this  would 
have  a  fair  claim  to  such  origin.  I  am  myself,  however,  disposed  to 
adopt  the  explanation  above  suggested,  viz.,  that  the  figures  seen  were 
hallucinations,  due  to  alarm  caused  by  mysterious  sounds. 

0. 186.  From  Mrs.  G.,  the  landlady  of  a  London  lodging-house. 

May  15thf  1888. 

1  came  into  this  house  at  the  end  of  September,  1887.  On  the  first  night 
1  slept  with  a  friend  in  the  back  drawing-room.  We  both  heard  in  the  course 
of  the  night  a  rustling  sound  in  the  front  room,  as  if  several  ladies  in  silk 
dresses  were  walking  round  the  room. 

On  several  occasions  after  this,  when  sleeping  in  the  little  room  on  the 
second  floor,  facing  the  top  of  the  stairs,  I  heard  these  rustling  noises  again, 
and  a  noise  as  if  several  people  were  coming  upstairs.  I  remember  once 
thinking  Mr.  Guthrie  had  brought  some  people  home  to  sleep,  and  wondering 
what  they  would  find  to  eat  for  breakfast.  At  the  same  time  I  saw  a  faint 
greenish  light,  as  if  from  a  flame  which  I  could  not  see,  coming  up  the  stairs 
and  disappearing  into  Mr.  Guthrie's  room.  Once  I  thought  (I  was  sleeping 
with  my  door  open  then)  that  I  heard  someone  come  into  the  room,  breathing 
very  heavily,  like  a  pig.  I  did  not  speak.  The  next  morning  Mr.  Guthrie 
asked  what  I  was  doing  in  their  room  the  night  before,  and  I  said,  "  I  was  just 
going  to  ask  you  the  same  question. "  He  told  me  he  had  not  been  into  my 
room.  After  this  I  got  frightened  and  locked  my  door,  and  then  I  used  to 
hare  two  candles  alight  in  the  room  whilst  I  slept. 

One  Tuesday  night,  about  the  end  of  November,  I  tliink,  I  woke  up 
at  1  a.m.  with  a  feeling  that  someone  was  in  the  room.  I  had  my  face 
to  the  wall,  but  I  turned  round  and  saw  between  the  bed  and  wall  [a  dis- 
tance of  three  or  four  feet  only],  just  opposite  to  me,  the  figure  of  a  woman 
apparently  about  fifty,  dark  hair  and  eyes,  a  red  dress  and  a  mob  cap.  I  looked 
at  her  and  asked  her  what  she  wanted.  She  bent  her  head  slowly  back, 
And  I  saw  what  I  thought  at  first  was  a  very  wide  mouth.     Then  I  saw  that 


252  Phantasms  of  the  Bead  [Nov.  29, 

hor  throat  was  cut.     I  was  very  frightened,  the  perspiration  came  out  on  me 
like  peas,  and  I  called  out  to  her  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,  to  go  away.     She  did  not  atir,  however,  and  I  remained 
looking  at  her  by  the  light  of  the  two  candles  in  the  room,  too  frightened  at 
first  to  put  out  my  hand  and  rap  on  the  partition  with  the  stick  which  Mr. 
Guthrie  had  lent  me  for  the  purpose.     At  last  I  managed  to  give  two  quiet 
knocks.     Then  I  heard  the  two  gentlemen  knocking  at  my  door,  and  the 
figure  slowly  vanished  like  a  shadow.     I  got  out  of  bed  all  shaking  and 
trembling,  and  went  with  them  downstairs  and  spent  the  rest  of  the  night  in 
the  drawing-room.     My  bedroom  on  the  second  floor  has  remained  empty 
since. 

From  Mr.  I.  Guthrie,  a  lodger  in  the  house. 

May  10th,  1888. 

The    curious  circumstance    which  you    have  asked  me    to  relate  hap- 
pened  between  the  hours  of  one  and  two  in  the  morning  about  Christmas- 
time. 

On  the  night  referred  to  I  lay  down  to  rest  about  my  usual  time,  between 
11  and  12.  About  the  time  mentioned  I  awoke  suddenly  to  hear  tho 
noise  as  of  a  person  in  a  silk  dress  moving  away  quietly  from  the  side  of  my 
bod.     It  continued  moving  until  I  heard  it  stop  in  the  adjoining  bedroom. 

Immediately  the  sound  stopped  I  heard  the  woman  who  was  sleeping  in 
that  room  begin  to  speak  ;  it  was,  to  me,  as  if  she  was  trying  to  wake  her 
little  son,  aged  nine,  who  slept  with  her.  All  this  time  I  was  conscious  that 
our  old  friend  the  ghost,  seen  before  and  expected  again,  had  once  more 
condescended  to  visit  us.  But  a  strange  weakness  in  the  legs,  to  which  I  am 
subject  in  moments  like  these,  prevented  my  rising  until  a  hurried  knocking 
— not  very  loud— was  heard  on  the  wall.  At  the  sound  my  strength  came 
back  t  >  me,  and  I  sprang  out  of  bed,  pulled  my  brother  out  of  his  bed, 
opened  the  two  doors  leading  to  [the  passage  and]  the  door  of  the  next  bed- 
room, at  which  we  knocked.  It  was  at  once  opened  to  us,  and  the  woman 
appeared  carrying  a  lighted  candle  in  her  hand,  and  in  a  state  of  extreme 
agitation  bordering  on  prostration.  She  was  trembling  so  much  that  she 
was  scarcely  able  to  stand  ;  the  perspiration  rolled  from  her  in  great  drojw. 
The  small  room  was  completely  illuminated  by  two  or  three  candles.  Her 
story  was  as  follows  : — 

She  awoke  hearing  movements  as  of  a  person  fumbling  about  the  room. 
On  looking  up  she  saw  by  the  side  of  her  bed  a  woman  standing  in  a  red  dress, 
seemingly  about  50  years  of  age,  and  with  a  curious  cap  on.  She  fell  to 
praying  and  addressed  the  apparition.  When  at  length  she  liad  gained  the 
courage  to  knock  and  we  were  to  be  heard  approaching  the  door,  the  appari- 
tion leaned  back  against  the  wall  and  seemed  to  fade  away,  showing  at  the 
same  time  a  deep  cut  across  the  throat  almost  separating  the  head  from  tho 
torso. 

My  brother  and  I,  after  seeing  to  the  safety  of  the  woman,  searched  the 
whole  house  thoroughly,  but  without  effect,  as  we  could  see  and  hear  nothing. 
At  this  distance  of  time  I  can  remember  a  curious  dancing  light  which 
we  noticed  on  the  stairs  ami  which  we  remarked  at  the  time,  but  did 
not  trace  it. 

Tho  strangeness  of  the  foregoing  lie3  in  the  fact  that  tho  woman  and  1 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  253 

were  both  awakened  at  the  same  time  by  the  same  noise,  that  I  should  hear 
the  noise  going  to  her  room  and  stopping  there,  and  that  she  should  hear  the 
sound  as  in  her  room.  Her  story  appeared  to  me  to  agree  perfectly  with 
what  I  heard  and  what  I  felt  was  going  on  in  her  room. 

We  came  into  the  house  in  October,  1887,  and  for  the  first  four  months  I 
and  others  had  been  troubled  with  noises  (especially  in  my  case  the  silk  dress 
sound)  and  mysterious  awakenings  during  the  night.  Someone  in  every 
room  in  the  house  complained  similarly.  On  two  occasions  at  least — one  I 
can  swear  to — I  am  perfectly  certain  I  saw  an  apparition  in  my  room.  I 
was  mysteriously  awakened  in  the  usual  manner,  and  on  lifting  my  eyes  saw 
distinctly  in  the  middle  of  the  room  a  moderately  tall  female  form,  clearly 
defined  and  dark  as  of  a  real  body,  which  on  my  looking  at  it  moved  towards 
me  down  the  room  and  out  through  the  closed  doors,  the  rustling  noise  dying 
away  in  the  distance.  I  liave  not  seen  or  heard  anything  for  some  months, 
but  lately  there  have  again  been  complaints  from  others  in  the  house. 

This,  in  brief,  is  my  account. 

I.  Guthrie. 

June  26tfi,  1888. 

In  reply  to  your  two  questions  I  beg  to  inform  you  that  never  had  I  reason 
to  suppose  I  had  heard  or  seen  anything  supernatural  before  October  last. 

I.  GUTHUIE. 

From  Mr.  D.  Guthrie. 

May  15th,  1888. 

In  consequence  of  the  noises  that  had  been  heard  by  my  brother,  the 
landlady,  and  others,  we  had  been  sleeping  with  swords  by  our  sides  for 
several  nights  previous  to  the  night  I  am  writing  about.  On  that  night  I 
was  awakened  by  my  brother,  who  threw  the  bedclothes  from  me,  exclaiming, 
to  the  best  of  my  recollection,  "  I've  seen  it."  Since  then,  I  must  tell  you, 
he  says  he  didn't  say  so  and  didn't  see  it,  only  felt  conscious  of  it  and  heard 
it.  This  is,  however,  my  account  of  the  affair — not  his.  As  I  sprang  out  of 
bed  I  heard  my  landlady  speaking  in  a  strange  manner  in  her  own  room, 
which  is  separated  from  mine  by  a  wooden  partition.  My  brother  and  I  lit 
a  candle  ;  opening  the  two  doors  and  reaching  the  landing  was  the  work  of 
an  instant,  and  standing  on  the  landing  I  distinctly  saw  a  wavering  light, 
like  the  reflection  of,  say,  sunlight,  moving  down  the  staircase  wall.  As  soon 
as  our  landlady  could  present  herself  she  opened  her  door,  which  was  locked, 
as  both  of  out3  had  been  ;  when  she  appeared  she  was  trembling  from  head 
to  foot,  and  with  perspiration  dropping  from  her  face.  She  had  all  the 
appearance  of  a  person  who  has  just  seen  an  awful  sight.  We  saw  her  down 
to  the  drawing-room  door,  which  was  also  locked  when  she  got  to  it,  and 
made  a  considerable  noise  in  opening,  and  we  then  proceeded  with  candles 
and  swords  to  search  the  house,  which  we  did  from  top  to  bottom,  with  the 
exception  of  the  drawing-room,  which  had  been  locked,  and  Miss  H.  's  bed- 
room, which  was  inaccessible  to  us,  but  we  looked  round  the  sitting-room 
adjoining.  All  our  searching  proved  fruitless,  and  the  mystery  of  the  light 
is  as  yet  unexplained. 

The  noises  and  apparition  I  have  never  been  favoured  with,  and  but  for 
having  seen  the  light  I  would  never  have  given  the  sublet  ^  &Qeox&^o>a^&\ 


254  Phantasms  of  (he  Dead  [Not  JJ, 

but  I  fed  confident  that  that  light  wai  not  caused  by  the  reflection  of  ev 
-candle,  and  am  unable  to  suggest  any  eolation  of  it  that  would  be  ssthfartnrj 
to  myself. 

D.  Gumn. 

May  VltK  1B8& 

As  far  as  I  remember  my  brother  saw  a  dark  figure  (woman *■)  mow 
down  the  centre  of  the  room,  approaching  from  the  window  to  the  door  and 
rustling  past  him.  He  wakened  with  what  he  calls  the  "  feeling  "  thattoaw- 
thing  was  about  the  room,  and  immediately  this  figure  began  to  more  towirfi 
his  bed  and  past  it. 

D.  Groan. 

May  28th,  lm. 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  remember  when  my  brother  told  me.  He  would 
be  likeliest  to  speak  to  me  about  it  when  we  were  dressing  next  morning, 
but  I  am  not  prepared  to  assert  that  he  did  so. 

D.  GUTHBIB. 

From  Miss  EL 

May  28*,  168a 
According  to  your  request  that  I  should  give  you  an  account  of  what  I 
heard  on  the  night  referred  to  in  the  account  you  hare  received  already 
from  my  aunt  [i.e.,  the  first  night  spent  in  the  house]. 

As  far  as  I  remember  I  was  awakened  by  a  strange  noise,  like  the  rustling 
of  silk,  or  silk  handkerchiefs. 

I  was  too  frightened  to  look  up  at  the  time,  and  cannot  remember  when. 
I  fell  asleep  again.     This  has  been  repeated  several  times  since. 

June  28ft,  1888. 

On  Wednesday  last,  the  20th  inst. ,  I  went  to  bed  at  about  my  usual  time, 
11.30  p.m.  or  a  little  later,  and,  as  far  as  I  know,  in  my  usual  health.  My 
aunt,  Mrs.  G.,  and  I  occupy  one  bed,  she  sleeping  next  to  the  walL  I 
suddenly  woke  up,  to  find  myself  sitting  upright  in  bed.  I  have  no  recollec- 
tion of  having  been  dreaming.  It  was  just  beginning  to  dawn  (the  time,  as 
I  found  out  afterwards,  must  have  been  between  2  and  3  a.m.),  and  I  saw, 
standing  up  bo  near  that  I  could  have  touched  it,  a  tall  woman's  figure  dressed 
in  black,  so  that  I  could  distinguish  no  features.  I  was  rather  frightened,  and 
spoke  to  my  aunt  and  tried  to  wake  her,  but  could  not  succeed;  The  figure 
moved  slowly  away  from  me  towards  the  window  (the  bed  faced  the  window) 
and  finally  disappeared,  as  it  were  into  the  strip  of  wall  between  the  window 
and  the  fireplace.  I  did  not  get  to  sleep  again  for  some  time.  After  about 
an  hour,  as  near  as  I  can  judge,  I  got  up  to  see  what  the  time  was  and  found 
it  was  just  4  a.m.  After  my  aunt  got  up,  about  5  a.m.,  I  dropped  off  to 
sleep  again. 

I  had,  of  course,  heard  what  Mr.  Guthrie  saw,  and  what  my  aunt  saw, 
before  Christmas.  But  I  don't  think  that  my  mind  had  been  dwelling  upon 
it  at  all  lately  ;  indeed,  I  had  almost  forgotten  it.  And  until  this  week  I 
had  hardly  known  anything  about  the  people  who  were  coming  to  sleep  in 
my  aunt's  old  room,  so  I  don't  think  there  was  anything  to  call  op  the  idem 


18S9.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  255 

of  the  ghost  in  my  mind.  I  was  quite  well,  too,  and  I  had  never  seen  anything 
else  of  the  kind.  I  never  remember  to  have  either  seen  or  heard  anything 
except  in  this  house — anything  that  was  not  really  there. 

1  have  not  heard  any  of  the  noises  lately,  not  since  Christmas  in 
fact. 

[Signed  in  full]        M.  E.  H. 

Mrs.  G.  stated  that  these  inexplicable  noises  had  been  heard  by  two 
successive  lodgers  on  the  drawing-room  floor,  and  that  the  first  had 
left  in  consequence.  The  other  at  the  beginning  of  May,  1888,  told 
Mrs.  G.  that  she  had  seen  an  apparition — the  figure  of  a  woman 
in  a  red  dress — in  her  bedroom  in  the  course  of  the  previous  night. 
We  have  not  been  able  to  trace  either  of  these  persons. 

It  will  be  observed  that  noises,  which  may  have  been  due  to  normal 
causes,  had  been  prevalent  in  the  house  throughout  its  occupation  by 
the  narrators,  who  appear  to  have   been  considerably  disturbed  by 
them.    Indeed,  that  the  landlady  had  been  much  alarmed  is  proved  by 
the  fact  that  Mr.  Guthrie  had  lent  her  a  stick  to  rap  the  wall,  in  case 
*he  should  be  again  disturbed  in  the  night.     Mrs.  G.'s  vision  and  Mr. 
Guthrie's  are  apparently  independent.     Miss  H.,  however,  saw  nothing 
until  long  after,  when  the  experiences  of  the  others  had  been  matter 
of  common  talk  in  the  household  for  months.     Her  evidence  cannot, 
therefore,  be  considered  as  possessing  much  corroborative  value.   More- 
over, the  apparition  differed  materially  from  that  seen  by  Mrs.  G.     It 
should,  however,  be  stated  as  regards  both  tliis  case  and  that  which 
immediately  follows,  as  a  fact  of   some  importance  in  assessing  the 
part  played   by   expectancy  in  generating    hallucination,  that   many 
members  and  associates  of  the    Society  for  Psychical  Research  and 
friends  introduced  by  them  have  slept  in  both  houses,  in  some  cases  for 
•everal  nights  consecutively,  with  a  full  knowledge  that  inexplicable 
phenomena   had  been  recently  observed.     Nothing  unusual  has,  how- 
ever, been  seen  in  either  house  by  any  person  connected  with  the 
Society ;  nor,  with  one  or  two  doubtful  exceptions,  have  any  inexplic- 
able sounds  been  heard.1  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  houses  described 
i&  the  Journal,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  196,  et  seq.,  and  Vol.  III.,  pp.  241,  et  seq. 
(Oi.  314).      This  fact,  however,   will    appear   less   significant  if   we 
bear  in  mind   that,   as  our    evidence  in  this   and    other  directions 
tends  to  show,  the  proportion  of  persons  who  are  readily  susceptible  to 
impressions  of  this  kind  is  not  very  large ;  and  that  the  persons  who  are 
most  sensitive  would,  it  is  certain,  in  most  cases  be  unwilling  to  expose 
themselves  to  such  an  ordeal  as  sleeping  in  a  "  haunted  "  house. 

The  following  case  (G.  187)  is  remarkable  because  two  successive 
KtB  of  occupants  of  the  house,  without  any  communication  with  each 

1  See  Appendix. 


25G  Phantasms  of  the  Dead  [Nov.  29, 

other,  or  any  conscious  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  second  set  that 
the  first  set  had  had  experiences,  were  "  haunted  "  by  sounds  and  sights. 
The  whole  has  occurred  since  1882.  We  have  the  first-hand  testimony 
of  most  of  the  principal  witnesses,  and  have  had  the  opportunity  of 
talking  over  their  experiences  with  them.  One  tenant  was  fairly  driven 
out  of  the  house  by  the  "  ghosts/7  Here,  too,  there  is  a  recent  and 
well-evidenced  tragedy,  though  its  connection  with  the  apparitions  and 
noises  is  not  very  clearly  established,  and  does  not,  I  think,  make  very 
strongly  for  the  hypothesis  of  post-mortem  agency.  The  first  account 
comes  to  us  from  Miss  L.  Morris, whose  address  is  withheld  lest  it  should 
lead  to  the  identification  of  the  house.  Miss  Morris  writes  in  June, 
1888  :— 

G.  187.  June,  1888. 

It  was  at  the  latter  end  of  October,  1882,  that  we  decided  on  taking  a 
small  house  on  a  lease,  looking  forward  to  taking  possession  of  it  and 
furnishing  it,  with  great  expectations  of  future  happiness,  and  longing  for 
the  day  to  come  to  enter  it.  On  the  day  in  question  we  arrived  late  in  tho 
afternoon,  and  occupied  ourselves  in  arranging  and  putting  finishing  touches 
to  tho  furniture,  amusing  ourselves,  and  laughing,  as  we  wore  in  high  spirits 
over  our  luck  in  finding  just  the  little  house  to  suit  us.  That  same  evening, 
about  a  quarter  to  10,  I  happened  to  be  alone  in  the  front  drawing-room, 
when  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  heard,  without  seeing  anyone,  heavy  foot- 
steps tramping  round  tho  drawTing-room  table,  at  which  I  was  reading. 
Naturally  I  was  surprised,  as  I  had  never  read  or  believed  in  anything  super- 
natural. A  few  minutes  later  my  eldest  sister  comes  and  sits  by  my  side, 
when  suddenly  she  exclaims,  turning  pale,  "  Charlotte,  there  is  some  one  who 
has  got  into  the  house,  walking  about  upstairs.  I  heard  such  a  noise,  like  a 
door  banging  to."  We  were  alone  at  the  time,  excepting  a  little  child 
sleeping  above,  and  my  sister  had  never  fancied  such  a  thing  before.  I 
replied,  "Oh,  it's  fancy."  "No,  I  heard  it  again;  listen  !"  At  which  I 
said,  "  I  will  take  up  the  poker  with  my  lamp  ;  you  come  too,  and  we  will 
see."  "No,"  she  said,  "I  am  afraid  to  go  up,  and  will  stop  here."  So- 
saying  in  fun,  "I  will  go,  and  not  be  afraid,  though  10,000  men  are 
against  me  !  "  I  flew  upstairs,  and  searched  everywhere — discovered  nothing 
— descended  alone  to  the  basement,  but  with  the  same  result. 

We  lauglied  at  our  fears,  and  went  to  our  rooms,  but  that  night  I  could  not 
sleep  at  all,  for  incessantly  round  and  round  the  room,  and  up  and  down  the 
stairs,  I  heard  these  ceaseless  and  unwearying  footsteps.  I  slept,  and  they 
woke  me  again,  making  me  light  my  candle,  and  look  about  me,  and  outside 
the  room,  to  see  if  I  could  discover  the  reason  for  the  strange  ounds.  Putting 
it  down  to  noises  in  the  adjacent  house,  I  blew  out  my  light,  and  again  closed 
my  eyes,  but  was  awoke  an  hour  after  by  feeling  someone  in  the  room,  and 
again  hearing  the  measured  footsteps.  I  controlled  my  fears  by  not  lighting 
my  candle,  and  tried,  though  in  vain,  to  sleep.  I  said  nothing  about  the 
occurrence  to  anyone  the  next  day,  but  kept  what  I  thought  must  have  been 
fancy  to  myself.  Still,  the  same  experience  happened  to  me  each  night,  till 
I  got  accustomed  to  it,  not  allowing  myself  to  give  way  to  fears  which, 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  257 

because    unseen,   could  not  be    explained,   till    an    experience    most  un- 
foreseen and  strange  occurred. 

It  was  three  weeks  since  we  had  occupied  the  house  and  it  was  about  five 
o'clock  one  afternoon  in  November,  and  so  light  that  I  had  no  need  of  the 
gas  to  enable  me  to  read  clearly  some  music  I  was  practising,  and  which 
engrossed  my  whole  attention  and  thought.  Having  forgotten  some  new 
waltzes  I  had  laid  on  the  music  shelf  in  the  back  drawing-room,  I  left  the 
piano,  and  went  dancing  gaily  along,  singing  a  song  as  I  went,  when  suddenly 
there  stood  before  me,  preventing  me  getting  the  music,  the  figure  of  a 
woman,  heavily  robed  in  deepest  black  from  the  head  to  her  feet ;  her  face 
was  intensely  sad  and  deadly  pale.  There  she  stood,  gazing  fixedly  at  me. 
Hie  song  died  on  my  lips  ;  the  door,  I  saw,  was  firmly  closed  where  she 
stood,  and  still  I  could  not  speak.  At  last  I  exclaimed,  "Oh,  auntie,  I 
thought  it  was  you  !  "  believing  at  the  moment  she  or  some  strange  visitor 
•tood  before  me,  when  suddenly  she  vanished. 

Thinking  it  was  a  trick  practised  on  me,  and  trembling  violently,  I  went 
lack,  not  getting  the  waltzes,  to  my  piano,  which  I  closed,  and  rushing 
ipstairs,  found  my  aunt  alone  in  her  room,  my  sisters  and  the  servant  being 
i  «it  "Did  you  not  come  into  the  drawing-room?"  I  asked  her.  "No," 
|  the  replied,  "  I  have  never  left  my  room  ;  I  am  coming  down  now,  though.'* 
1  it  we  were  alone,  I  saw  no  trick  had  been  played  upon  me,  and  my  strange 
r  Tkkm  was  not  imagination. 

I  Not  wishing  to  alarm  my  aunt,  I  did  not  communicate  my  strange  experi- 
\  «oce  to  her,  nor  did  I  relate  it  subsequently  to  my  sisters  or  any  friends, 
thinking,  as  they  could  not  account  for  it,  they  would  not  believe  me  if  I  did, 
» I  kept  it  as  a  secret  for  three  years,  though  I  longed  to  disclose  it  to  some 
friend  who  would  believe  me,  and  not  make  fun  at  what  troubled  me  so 
*nch ;  when  another,  though  different,  circumstance  occurred,  which  puzzled 
■  all,  and  which  we  have  never  yet  proved. 

It  was  in  June,  1884,  that  our  hall-door  bell  began  to  ring  incessantly  and 

violently.     We  had  frequently  heard  at  intervals  a  ring,  and  discovered  no 

«e  was  at  the  door,  but  this  especially  annoyed  us,  and  puzzled  everyone 

•side  and  outside  the  house  by  the  noise  repeatedly  made.     We  had  always 

pit  it  down  to  "a  runaway  ring"  and  took  no  notice,  but  for  three  weeks, 

*t  intervals  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour  or  half  an  hour,  it  rang  unceasingly,  and 

■ch  peals,  it  electrified  us.  We  put  ourselves  on  guard  and  carefully  watched, 

Weying  it  a  trick.     We  had  everyone  up  from  the  basement,  out  of  connec- 

|  *»  with  the  wire,  in  the  front  drawing-room,  and  placed  the  hall  door  and 

■r  doors  wide  open  ;  it  was  the  same  result:  loud  and  piercing  peals  from 

i  fcbeU,  which,  at  last,  after  three  weeks,  we  had  taken  off,  when  we  saw  tho 

,  *ttt  in  connection  with  it  vibrated  as  if  the  bell  was  attached  to  it.     There 

*We also  loud  knocks  at  the  door,  and  no  one  there  when  we  went  to  answer; 

**U  repeatedly  heard  loud  knocks  at  my  own  room  door  the  whole  time  I  was 

!  ■  the  house.     Though  my  aunt  could  not  understand  the  communication  I 

■fated  to  her,  she  would  not  believe  me,  and  laughed  at  my  "imaginative 

■tones."    A  few  afternoons  later,  I  was  having  tea  with  her  (we  had  sent 

|  4*  lurid  out  shopping)  when  she  exclaimed,  "There's  a  double  knock  at  tho 

f  «■*."    I  ran  to  open  it ;  on  my  way  along,   I  noticed  the  front  and  back 

Rating-room  doors  were  firmly  closed,  as  I  remembered  shutting  them  a$ 

r 
L 


258  Phantasms  of  the  Dead  [Nov.  29, 

usual  when  we  took  tea  in  the  breakfast-room  adjoining.  On  answering  the 
door,  no  one  was  there,  and  on  returning,  I  found  the  back  drawing-room 
door  half  wide  open.  I  exclaimed  to  my  aunt,  "Oh,  you  have  been  in  the 
drawing-room  !  "  "  I  have  never  got  up  from  the  table,"  she  said.  I  replied, 
"  The  door  was  wide  open  which  I  shut!"  to  which  she  said,  "What  non- 
sense will  you  be  talking  next?"  and  there  the  matter  dropped. 

A  few  months  later  I  had  gone  to  rest.  It  was  about  2  a.m.  I  was 
awoke  by  a  tremendous  knock  at  my  door,  and  the  handle  turning.  Having 
a  light  I  sprang  out  of  bed,  being  close  to  the  door,  angry,  and  being  deter- 
mined to  catch  whoever  it  might  be.  No  one  was  there  !  and  on  looking 
across  to  my  sisters'  room  I  saw  their  door  was  wide  open.  Believing  it 
was  a  trick  on  their  part,  and  being  annoyed  at  having  been  disturbed,  I 
waited  till  the  next  morning,  when  I  accused  them  of  the  trick,  but  was 
amazed  to  find  they  had  been  startled  in  the  same  way,  and  put  it  down  to 
a  dog  having  opened  their  door,  but  they  found  he  was  asleep,  and  they  had 
previously  heard  footsteps,  and  were  too  frightened  to  move.  They  also 
both  heard  the  door  opened.  They  assured  me  they  had  never  come  to  my 
door  or  knocked  at  it,  and  I  could  see  they  were  too  startled  to  be  acting  an 
untruth.  In  fact,  my  sister,  though  older  than  I,  would  not  sleep  alone  in 
that  house  by  herself  after. 

Another  occurrence  happened  a  few  months  later  in  the  year  1885,  in  the 
winter.  I  was  alone  in  the  house  with  my  aunt,  and  had  gone  (the  servant 
being  out)  to  fetch  some  wood  from  the  kitchen  cupboard.  Having  got  all 
I  wanted  to  re-light  the  fire,  which  had  gone  out  in  the  drawing-room,  1 
shut  to  the  door  and  locked  it,  when  from  the  inside  came  a  tremendous 
knock,  which  so  startled  me  I  quickly  ran  upstairs,  when  repeatedly,  as  if 
beneath  my  feet  from  the  cupboard,  I  felt  loud  knocks  as  plainly  as  at  the 
door  I  had  just  closed.  I  had  previously  laid  and  brought  the  supper,  when 
just  before  going  to  my  aunt  to  say  all  was  ready,  in  the  hall  from  the 
kitchen  into  the  housekeeper's  room  (front  room  on  basement),  I  saw  a 
woman  robed  in  black  slowly  and  distinctly  walk.  (It  moved  like  gliding.) 
She  was  walking  before  me,  a*  it  were,  down  in  the  hall.  Believing  it  was 
my  aunt,  I  went  straight  to  the  drawing-room,  and  found  her  deeply 
interested  in  her  work-book,  and  found  she  had  not  gone  downstairs  that 
evening.     To  her  I  did  not  communicate  tins,  as  she  was  not  well. 

A  little  time  after  she  fell  ill,  having  long  been  suffering,  and  when  a 
little  later  on  we  lost  her  to  our  grief,  wo  left  the  house  altogether,  as  oar 
lease  had  expired  just  about  that  time  ;  but  I  give  my  testimony  I  never 
knew  one  happy  day  in  it,  for  I  could  not  forget  the  peculiar  experiences  bo 
frequently  happening,  and  which  seemed  to  haunt  me  wherever  I  went 
about  in  it,  and  which  I  accounted  for  by  the  communication  confided  in 
mo  by  a  friend  of  the  fact  of  a  woman  having  a  few  years  back  hung 
herself  there. 

I  saw  Miss  L.  Morris  on  July  9th,  1888.  She  explained  to  me  tha^ 
she  and  her  aunt  (dead)  were  the  regular  occupants  of  the  hous* 
from  October,  1882,  to  December,  1886.  Two  sisters  came  to  sta] 
occasionally,  and  slept,  when  they  came,  in  the  little  "off"  room  om 
lower  level  than  the  other  bedrooms.     She  believes  that  after  thei 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  259 

departure  the  house  remained  empty  until  Mrs.  G.  took  it.  The  tenant 
before  her  was  a  Miss  E.  Miss  L.  Morris  learnt  from  her  that  she 
(Miss  R)  had  heard  or  seen  nothing  abnormal  during  her  stay  in  the 
house.  Miss  L.  Morris, who  is  rather  deaf,  has  had  no  other  hallucinations. 
She  told  me  that  they  had  the  boards  taken  up  to  trace  the  cause,  if 
possible,  of  the  bell-ringing,  but  could  discover  nothing.  She  and  her 
sister  had  frequently  watched  the  front  door  when  the  bell  was  ringing 
violently.  Miss  E.  M.  Morris  told  me  of  two  occasions  (one  described 
in  Miss  L.  Morris's  account )  on  which,  when  she  and  her  other  sister 
were  sleeping  in  the  little  back  room,  their  door  was  opened  in  tho 
night  at  the  same  time  that  Miss  L.  Morris,  sleeping  in  another  room, 
was  disturbed  by  noises.  Miss  E.  M.  Morris  also  confirmed  her  sister's 
account  of  the  bell  ringing. 

From  December,  1886,  until  November  of  the  following  year  the 
house  remained  empty.  It  was  then  taken  by  Mrs.  G.,  a  widow  lady 
with  two  children,  girls  of  about  9  and  10  respectively,  and  one 
maid-servant.  Mrs.  G.  had  only  come  to  X.  about  six  months 
before  taking  the  house,  and  was  entirely  ignorant  that  anything 
unusual  had  happened  there.  The  account  which  follows,  written  at 
Mr.  Gurney's  request,  in  June,  1888,  was  compiled  with  the  help  of  a 
diary,  in  which  she  had  jotted  down  from  day  to  day  brief  notices  of  any 
unusual  occurrence.  This  diary  she  kindly  permitted  me  to  inspect,  and 
some  extracts  from  it,  copied  by  me,  are  printed  after  the  account. 

The  names  given  to  the  children  in  this  account  are  fictitious,  and 
the  same  names  have  been  substituted  for  the  real  ones  in  the  extracts 
from  the  diary. 

From  Mrs.  G. 

It  was  towards  the  end  of  November,  1887,  I  took  a  pretty  house 
.  .  .  in  the  South  of  England.  I  had  never  been  in  that  locality 
before,  and  knew  no  one  at  all  in  that  neighbourhood,  although  I  had  for 
the  last  six  months  been  living  in  another  part  of  the  town  ;  my  dear  hus- 
htnd,  an  officer  in  the  army,  dying  there  (he  had  been  badly  wounded  in  the 
Mutiny),  I  resolved  to  go  into  a  quieter  part  of  the  town  and  take  a  less 
expensive  house. 

We  had  not  been  more  than  a  fortnight  in  our  new  home  (it  was  in 

December)  when  I  was  aroused  by  a  deep  sob  and  moan.     "  Oh,"  I  thought, 

'»hat  has  happened  to  the  children?"    I  rushed  in,  their  room  being  at 

the  back  of  mine  ;  found  them  sleeping  soundly.     So  back  to  bed  I  went, 

*hen  again  another  sob,  and  such  a  thump  of  somebody  or  something  very 

tavy.     "  What  can  be  the  matter  ? "    I  sat  up  in  bed,  looked  all  round  the 

'oom,  then  to  my  horror  a  voice  (and  a  very  sweet  one)  said,  "  Oh,  do  forgive 

"to  • "  three  times.     I  could  stand  it  no  more  ;  I  always  kept  the  gas  burn- 

Utyft  turned  it  up,  and  went  to  the  maid's  room.     She  was  fast  asleep,  so  I 

■took  her  well,  and  asked  her  to  come  into  my  room.     Then  in  five  minutes 

toe  aobs  and  moans  recommenced,  and  the  heavy  tramping  of  feet,  and  such 

tounps,  like  heavy  boxes  of  plate  being  thrown  about.    She  suggest* 


260  Phantasnis  of  the  Dead  [Nov.  29, 

should  ring  the  big  bell  I  always  keep  in  my  room,  but  I  did  not  like  to 
alarm  the  neighbourhood.  (4Oh,  do,  ma'am,  I  am  sure  there  are  burglars 
next  door,  and  they  will  come  to  us  next."  Anything  but  pleasant,  on  a 
bitter  cold  night,  standing  bell  in  hand,  a  heavy  one,  too,  awaiting  a  burglar. 
Well,  I  told  her  to  go  to  bed,  and  hearing  nothing  for  half-an-hour,  I  got 
into  mine,  "nearly  frozen  with  cold  and  fright.  But  no  sooner  had  I  got  warm 
than  the  sobs,  moans,  and  noises  commenced  again.  I  heard  the  policeman's 
steady  step,  and  I  thought  of  the  words,  "  What  of  the  night,  Watchman  ? 
what  of  the  night  ?"  If  he  only  could  have  known  what  we,  a  few  paces  off, 
were  going  through.  Three  times  I  called  Anne  in,  and  then  in  the  morning 
it  all  died  away  in  a  low  moan.  Directly  it  was  daylight,  I  looked  in  the 
glass  to  see  if  my  hair  had  turned  white  from  the  awful  night  I  spent.  Very 
relieved  was  I  to  find  it  still  brown. 

Of  course  nothing  was  said  to  the  children,  and  I  was  hoping  I  should 
never  experience  such  a  thing  again.  I  liked  the  house,  and  the  children 
were  so  bonny.  I  had  too  much  furniture  for  that  small  house,  so  stowed  it 
away  in  the  room  next  to  the  kitchen,  and  we  used  the  small  room  at  the 
top  of  the  kitchen  stairs  as  a  dining-room,  and  then  I  had  a  pretty  double 
drawing-room,  where  I  always  stayed.  Still  the  children  had  no  play-room, 
and  no  place  for  their  doves.  I  therefore  had  most  of  the  furniture  and  boxes 
taken  out  and  put  in  the  back  kitchen.  It  seems  from  that  day  our  troubles 
commenced,  for  the  children  were  often  alarmed  by  noises  and  a  crash  of 
something,  and  did  not  like  sleeping  alone.  I  felt  a  little  uncomfortable, 
and  thought  it  was  all  rather  strange,  but  had  so  much  business  affairs  to 
settle,  having  no  one  else  to  help  me,  that  I  had  not  much  time  to  think. 

I  was  in  the  drawing-room  deeply  thinking  about  businoss  matters,  when 
I  was  startled  by  Edith  giving  such  a  scream.  I  ran  to  the  door,  and  found 
her  running  up,  followed  by  Florence  and  the  servant,  the  child  so  scared 
and  deadly  white,  and  could  hardly  breathe.  "  Oh,  Birdie  dear,  I  have  seen 
such  a  dreadful  white  face  peeping  round  the  door  !  I  only  saw  the  head.  I 
was  playing  witli  Floss  (dog),  and  looking  up,  I  saw  this  dreadful  thing. 
Florence  and  Anne  rushed  in  at  once,  but  saw  nothing."  I  pacified  them  by 
saying  someone  was  playing  a  trick  by  a  magic  lantern,  but  after  that  for 
months  they  would  not  go  upstairs  or  down  alone. 

It  was  very  tiresome,  and  thinking  seriously  over  the  matter,  I  resolved 
to  return  my  neighbour's  call,  which  she  honoured  me  with  the  day  after  the 
first  terrible  night.  I  was  ushered  into  the  presence  of  two  portly  dames, 
and  I  should  think  they  had  arrived  at  that  age  not  given  to  pranks.  I 
looked  at  them,  and  mentally  thought,  "  That  sweet  voice  does  not  belong  to 
either  of  you."  They  informed  me  they  had  lived  in  that  house  18  years,  so  I 
thought  I  might  venture  to  ask  whether  anything  had  ever  taken  place  of  a 
disagreeable  nature  in  my  house,  as  we  were  so  constantly  alarmed  by  heavy 
noises,  and  that  my  eldest  daughter,  aged  10,  had  seen  a  dreadful  white  face 
looking  round  the  door  at  her,  and  of  course  I  should  be  glad  to  know  ;  that 
as  far  as  I  was  concerned,  I  feared  nothing  and  no  one,  but  if  my  children 
were  frightened  I  should  leave,  but  I  liked  the  house  very  much,  and  thought 
perhaps  I  might  buy  it.  They  said,  "  Don't  do  that,  but  there  is  nothing  to 
hurt  you,"  and  I  saw  sundry  nods  and  winks  which  meant  more,  so  in  des- 
jwration  I  said,  "  Won't  you  tell  mo  what  has  occurred?"     "Well,  a  few 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  261 

years  ago,  the  bells  commenced  to  ring,  and  there  was  quite  a  commotion, 
bat  then  the  former  tenant,  a  Miss  M.,  had  a  wicked  servant."  The  other 
dame  replied,  "  I  may  say,  a  very  wicked  servant."  Well,  I  could  not  get 
much  more,  but  of  course  I  imagined  this  very  wicked  servant  had  done 
something,  and  felt  very  uneasy. 

On  my  return,  Edith  said,  "Oh,  dear,  I  have  seen  such  a  little  woman 
para,  and  I  often  hear  pitter  patter  ;  what  is  it  ?  Of  course  magic  lanterns 
couldn't  do  that."  So  I  said  nothing,  and  said  I  was  too  tired  to  talk. 
That  night  I  felt  a  very  creeping  feeling  of  shivering,  and  thought  I  would 
have  Florence  to  sleep  with  me,  so  when  I  went  to  bed  about  10,  I  carried 
her  in  wrapped  up  in  a  shawl,  leaving  Edith  asleep  with  the  maid.  .It  was 
about  11 ;  I  had  tucked  my  little  pet  in  and  was  about  to  prepare  to  go 
to  deep,  when  it  seemed  as  if  something  electric  was  in  the  room,  and  that 
the  ceiling  and  roof  were  coming  on  the  top  of  us.  The  bed  was  shaken, 
*nd  such  a  thump  of  something  very  heavy.  I  resolved  not  to  risk  my 
child's  life  again,  for  whatever  it  was  came  down  on  me,  she  would  be  safe  in 
the  next  room  with  the  others,  but  I  dreaded  going  to  bed,  as  I  never  knew 
what  might  happen  before  the  morning. 

We  had  a  dreadful  night,  December  29th,  such  heavy  thumps  outside  the 
bedrooms,  and  went  to  Mr.  W.,  the  agent,  intending  to  tell  him  we  must  leave, 
or  we  should  be  bereft  of  our  senses,  but  I  was  too  late  ;  the  office  was  shut, 
*>  I  went  to  friends  and  asked  them  to  come  and  sleep,  as  I  really  was  too 
unnerved  to  remain  alone  on  New  Year's  Eve.  They  kindly  came.  Mrs.  L. 
8*id  she  heard  knocks.  They  returned  home  the  next  morning,  having  a 
young  family  to  look  after.  I  then  wrote  to  a  sister-in-law  I  was  fond  of  at 
Cheltenham,  and  she  came  for  a  week,  but  everything  was  quiet.  January 
18th,  I  heard  three  loud  knocks  at  my  bedroom  door.  I  was  too  terrified  to 
speak  for  a  minute,  and  then  called  out,  "Who's  there?  What  do  you 
want  ? "  My  terror  was  intense,  for  I  thought,  supposing  it  is  a  burglar  ! 
^  was  a  great  relief  to  hear  the  children  call  out :  "  Birdie,  who  is  knocking 
*tyour  door  ? "  "I  wish  I  could  tell  you."  A  fortnight  previously  I  asked 
*  policeman  on  duty  if  he  would  see  if  any  one  was  in  the  empty  house.  He 
c*me  to  tell  me  it  was  securely  fastened,  and  no  one  could  get  in.  Then  I 
suggested  coiners  under  the  houses,  but  he  said  they  only  go  to  old  castles. 
"Well,  then  what  is  it? "  He  said  a  sad  occurrence  had  taken  place  some 
years  ago.  I  said,  "  Oh,  dreadful !  "  but  he  was  matter-of-fact  was  Police- 
^X.,  and  replied,  "It  is  an  e very-day  thing,  and  no  doubt  most  of  the 
•totwes  people  lived  in  something  has  happened  in."  "  But,"  I  said,  "  this  is 
^h  a  very  strange  house,  and  we  have  no  rest  either  by  day  or  night,  and 
fhy  should  this  dreadful  white  face  appear  to  my  child  ? "  Well,  he  didn't 
f^ieve  in  ghosts.  "  Very  well,"  I  said,  •'  will  you  kindly  catch  whoever  it 
"frightening  us,  and  let  them  be  well  punished  ? "  "  But,  madam,  I  can't 
*fcb  nothing !  "  "  Right,  Policeman  X.,  I  knew  that  was  impossible,  but 
Wa*t  am  I  to  do  ?  "    So  he  suggested  detectives,  but  that  wouldn't  do. 

♦  .  .  I  found  that  house  very  expensive,  and  I  had  to  keep  the  gas 
taming  downstairs  and  up  all  night.  I  asked  a  young  friend  from 
Richmond  to  stay,  a  clergyman's  daughter.  She  laughed  at  such  a  thing  as  & 
|W.  We  both  went  up  the  trap-door  and  explored  the  space  over  the  bed- 
oom,  and  next  to  the  roof  ;  it  was  very  dark,  but  I  took  a  candle,  and  thei 


262  Phantasms  of  the  Dead  [Not.  29, 

covered  three  holes  an  Urge  as  a  plate  between  my  house  and  the  old  ladies'. 
The  next  morning  I  walked  down  to  the  landlord  who  owns  both  houses,  and 
told  him  again  what  we  were  continually  going  through  and  that  I  and 
my  children  were  getting  ill,  and  that  it  was  quite  impossible  to  lire  in  the 
house.  He  came  up  on  the  following  day,  and  told  me  that  a  woman  had 
hanged  herself,  he  thought,  in  the  room  the  children  slept  in.  The  holes 
were  filled  up,  and  I  thought  now  nothing  can  come  in  to  alarm  us.  What 
puzzled  my  friend  was  that  the  two  old  dames  being  invalids  should  go  out 
in  the  snow  and  wet  between  9  and  10  most  nights  in  their  garden  ;  it 
certainly  was  odd,  but,  of  course,  they  had  a  right  to  do  what  they  liked  in 
their  own  house,  only  they  banged  the  back  door  ;  when  Anne  locked  up  she 
scarcely  made  a  sound. 

Florence  was  often  saying  to  her  eldest  sister,  "  You  see  it  was  your 
imagination,  for  I  never  see  anything."  "  Wait  till  you  do,  you  won't  forget 
it  !  "  The  next  morning,  as  Florence  was  passing  the  room  on  the  stairs, 
she  Maw  a  man  standing  by  the  window  staring  fixedly  ;  blue  eyes,  dark  brown 
hair,  and  freckles.  She  rushed  up  to  me,  looking  very  white  and  frightened  ; 
the  house  was  searched  at  once,  and  nothing  seen. 

I  had  forgotten  to  mention  that  the  night  after  the  knocks  came  to  my 
bedroom  I  resolved  that  the  dog,  who  is  very  sharp,  should  sleep  outside, 
but  oh,  tliat  was  worse  than  all,  for  at  a  quarter  past  12  I  looked  at  my 
clock.  He  commenced  to  cry,  it  was  not  exactly  howling,  and  tore  at  the 
carpet  in  a  frantic  manner.  I  threw  my  fur  cloak  on,  threw  the  door  wide 
open,  and  demanded  what  was  the  matter.  The  i>oor  little  animal  was  so 
delighted  to  see  mo  ;  I  saw  ho  had  biscuits  and  water,  and  the  children  were 
then  awake,  and  asked  me  why  Floss  was  making  that  noise.  I  went  to  bed, 
and  in  10  minutes  he  recommenced.  I  went  out  three  times,  and  then  made 
up  my  mind  not  to  move  again,  for  I  felt  so  cold  and  angry. 

Another  night  something  seemed  to  walk  to  the  children's  door,  and  turn 
tho  handle,  walk  up  to  the  washstand,  shake  the  bed,  and  walk  out.  It 
really  was  enough  to  shake  anyone's  nerves.  My  sister  and  brother-in-law, 
Mr.  B.,  came  for  a  couple  of  nights,  but  that  was  when  I  first  went  in.  They 
heard  nothing.  I  then  had  my  husband's  first  wife's  sister,  who  is  very  fond 
of  mo,  to  stay  over  Easter.     She,  fortunately,  did  not  hear  anything. 

Tho  children  frequently  saw  lights  in  thoir  bedroom,  generally  white,  and 
Florenco  one  night  saw  a  white  skirt  hanging  from  the  ceiling.  She  was  so 
frightened  that  sho  put  her  head  under  the  clothes,  and  would  not  look  again. 

Then  my  solicitor  and  his  wife  came  down  for  a  night,  for  he  was  very 
kind  about  my  business  matters,  as  I  understand  so  little  about  money 
matters,  so  ho  came  to  advise  me.  Mrs.  C.  could  not  go  to  sleep  until  four, 
as  she  hoard  bucIi  a  heavy  fall  outside  her  bedroom  door. 

One  Sunday  I  was  reading  by  tho  fire  in  the  drawing-room,  and  thinking 
it  was  very  cosy,  when  I  hoard  a  cry,  and  thinking  it  one  of  the  children 
ill,  was  going  upstairs.  Edith  called  out,  "  Birdie,  come  quickly;  something 
has  opened  and  shut  our  door  three  times,  and  some  one  is  crying."  I  went 
up,  and  wo  all  heard  someone  sobbing,  but  where  it  came  from  we  could 
not  toll,  but  Hoemod  near  the  wall. 

One  day,  when  1  was  out,  the  children  were  playing  with  Anne  in  the 
room  (lownsUiirs  ;  they  all  distinctly  hoard  a  very  heavy  footfall  walk  across 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  263 

s 

the  drawing-room,  play  two  notes  on  the  piano,  and  walk  out.  I  came  in 
shortly  after,  astonished  to  see  them,  candle  in  hand,  looking  under  the  beds. 
It  was  a  dreadful  time. 

March  3rd  I  was  writing  in  the  drawing-room,  when  the  front  door  bell 
rang  violently.  I  asked  who  it  was  ;  "No  one,  ma'am."  I  thought  I  would 
stand  by  the  window,  and  presently  it  rang  again  ;  down  the  servant  came, 
no  one  there,  and  after  the  third  time  I  told  her  not  to  go  to  the  door  unless 
she  heard  a  knock  as  well.  I  knew  no  one  had  pulled  the  bell,  as  I  was 
standing  by  the  window. 

I  then  had  an  interview  with  Miss  M.,  the  former  tenant, who  told  me  she 
had  gone  through  preciselywhat  I  had,  but  had  said  very  little  about  it,  for 
fear  of  being  laughed  at.  I  was  far  too  angry  to  take  notice  whether  anyone 
laughed  or  not.  Miss  M.  said  one  afternoon  between  four  and  live  she  was 
in  very  good  spirits,  and  was  playing  the  piano,  and  as  she  crossed  the  room 
a  figure  enveloped  in  black,  with  a  very  white  face,  and  such  a  forlorn  look, 
stood  before  her,  and  then  it  faded  away.  She  was  so  terrified,  but  did  not 
tell  anyone  about  it.  For  some  time  after  she  was  ill  from  fright  on  two 
occasions,  but  her  aunt  being  old  did  not  care  to  move,  and  she  was  too 
much  attached  to  her  to  leave.  It  was  satisfactory  to  find  some  one  else  had 
gone  through  what  we  were  daily  experiencing.  March  20th.  I  was  resting 
in  the  drawing-room,  when  as  I  thought,  I  heard  Edith's  voice  say  tliree 
times,  "Darling  !  "  I  ran  downstairs,  much  to  their  astonishment,  and  said, 
*'  Well,  what  is  it  now  ?  "  They  replied,  "  We  were  coming  directly,  why  did 
you  come  down  ?"  "  Well,  that  is  cool ;  why  did  you  call  me  ?  "  "  But  we 
didn't ;  you  called  to  us  to  put  on  our  hate  at  once  as  you  were  going  into 
the  town."  Anne  said  she  distinctly  heard  me  say  it  when  I  had  not  even 
spoken.  I  believe  it  was  that  same  night  as  they  were  going  upstairs  to  bed, 
they  saw  a  white  figure  standing  by  the  little  room.     How  I  hated  that  room ! 

Well,  then  friends  suggested  I  should  have  the  floors  up,  the  chimneys 
taken  out  to  see  if  there  was  any  communication  to  the  other  house,  and  the 
door  taken  away,  and  a  new  one  put.  One  friend  offered  to  lend  me  a 
mastiff  which  flew  at  everything  ;  another  offered  mo  his  savage  bull-dog, 
which  was  always  chained  up  when  I  called  there,  and  then  last,  but  not 
least,  I  was  to  have  two  detectives.  "Well,"  I  thought,  "it  is  time  to 
move  ;  in  this  bitter  weather  to  have  no  floors,  no  grates,  no  door,  a 
ferocious  mastiff,  and  still  worse  a  bull-dog  and  two  detectives,  a  pretty  state 
of  affairs  for  any  one  !  "  I  asked  my  landlord  to  release  me,  but  he  would 
not  unless  I  paid  my  rent  up  to  Christmas. 

Having  had  very  heavy  expenses  all  the  year,  I  thought  I  would  if  possible 
stay  till  September,  as  the  evenings  would  be  light,  and  we  should  be  out 
all  day,  but  even  that  I  was  not  allowed  to  do,  for  coming  home  from  paying 
visits,  I  found  Florence  looking  deathly  white,  and  in  a  very  nervous  state, 
and  in  breathless  haste  she  said  she  had  seen  the  same  face,  but  the  figure 
was  crawling  in  the  little  room  as  if  it  would  spring  on  her.  I  at  once  called 
on  my  doctor,  who  advised  me  to  take  the  children  away  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  let  them  be  amused,  so  I  left  my  servant  and  her  father  in  charge,  locked 
my  bedroom  door,  and  took  the  key,  went  to  London,  where  Edith  was  so  ill 
that  I  bad  to  call  in  Dr.  F. ,  and  as  soon  as  she  was  better  I  thought  I  would 
remain  a  week  longer,  making  three  weeks,  so  that  e>\\e  m\^&  ^o  to  ^  <£vroa& 

*1 


264  Phantasms  of  the  Dead  [Nov,  29, 

nnd  be  amused,  and  forget  the  frights  ;  but  even  that  I  wasn't  allowed  to 
do,  for  on  Monday  I  received  a  letter  from  my  servant  to  Bay  they  could  not 
stay  in  the  house  any  longer,  for  since  her  father  left,  her  mother  and  sister 
had  slept  with  her,  and  they  were  all  startled  one  night  by  hearing  someone 
walk  upstairs,  throw  paper  down,  and  run  after  it,  and  the  next  night  some 
one  knocked  loudly  at  my  bedroom  door,  walked  and  moved  all  the  furniture 
about,  and  nothing  was  moved,  and  that  in  consequence  they  had  locked  up 
the  house,  taking  the  doves  and  Floss  with  them,  and  leaving  food  enough 
for  the  two  cats  for  three  days.  I  got  up  early,  very  much  annoyed  about 
the  horrid  house,  packed  and  came  back  with  the  children,  May  the  8th. 
Fortunately,  Edith  kept  well.  My  banker's  wife  kindly  met  me  at  the  station, 
and  made  me  go  back  with  the  children  to  lunch.  I  telegraphed  to  my  servant 
to  meet  me  at  the  house,  and  Mrs.  L.  and  I  went  to  look  at  my  present 
abtxle,  and  that  afternoon  agreed  to  take  it  from  the  10th  inst.  Mrs.  L. 
came  up  to  sleep,  and  says  she  heard  such  thumps  and  bumps  in  the  little 
room  underneath,  and  a  hissing  sound  round  the  top  of  the  bed.  I  paid  my 
rent  and  left ;  I  asked  Mr.  C.  to  write  and  tell  the  landlord  he  must  let  me 
off  a  quarter,  as  I  had  been  put  to  a  great  expense  through  his  house,  as  we 
could  not  possibly  live  in  it,  and  we  cleared  out  on  the  following  Thursday. 
Such  a  relief  to  be  free  from  alarms  and  noises  ! 

And  so  ended  my  sojourn  of  five  months  in  that  very  extraordinary  house. 
All  is  quite  true  that  I  have  stated,  whether  mortal  or  immortal  I  know  not. 
I  am  glad  to  say  my  children  are  recovering,  though  Edith  is  still  very  weak, 
and  I  am  suffering  dreadfully  from  neuralgia,  the  result  of  the  anxiety  and 
worry  I  have  gone  through. — June  15t/i-,  1888, 

Mr.  Gurney  wrote  :  — 

I  had  a  long  talk  with  Mrs.  G.  on  June  13th,  1888.  She  went  over  the 
whole  history  of  her  and  her  children's  experiences  in  the  house.  She  struck 
me  as  an  excellent  witness.  I  have  never  received  an  account  in  which  the 
words  and  manner  of  telling  were  less  suggestive  of  exaggeration  or  super- 
stition. There  is  no  doubt  that  she  was  simply  turned  out  of  a  house  which 
otherwise  exactly  suited  her,  at  very  serious  expense  and  inconvenience. 

Extracts  from  Mrs.  G.'s  diary. 

.January  2nd,  1888. — Anne  went  home  from  four  to  10.  I  felt  very 
nervous  being  alone  with  the  children,  having  been  ho  alarmed  with 
noises  and  apparitions  before.  No.  X.  [•/.*».,  police-constable]  came  to  tell  lw* 
they  had  made  inquiries,  and  [no?]  strange  people  came  into  the  empty 
house.     No  noises  since  Sunday  night. 

Wednesday,  January  18th. — I  heard  three  loud  knocks  at  my  bedrwni 
door,  just  as  I  got  into  my  bed  last  night.  So  did  the  children  and  Anne  J 
all  very  frightened. 

January  30th,  1888. — At  three  this  morning  I  heard  soft  knocks  at  my 
bedroom  door,  and  the  handle  certainly  was  tried.  1  was  very  much 
frightened,  but  don't  want  to  alarm  the  children.  Shall  bring  Floss  up 
to-night. 

February  1st.— I  went  out  making  calls.  The  children  said  they  heard 
footsteps  in  the  drawing-room  before  I  came  in. 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  265 

February  6th. — Florence  saw  an  apparition  in  brown  at  7.30  a.m.  I 
wasn't  up.  Edith  was  practising,  and  Anne  was  doing  the  grate  in  the 
drawing-room.     What  can  it  be  ? 

February  24th. — Bell  rang  three  times.;  no  one  at  the  door.  [Mrs.  G. 
told  me  that  she  was  standing  at  the  window. — F.P.] 

March  3rd. — Heard  the  bell  ring  about  11.     No  one  at  the  door. 

March  20th. — Was  lying  down  on  the  sofa,  and  heard  a  voice  say 
*'  Darling,"  then  kisses.  Ran  down  to  the  children,  but  they  were  surprised, 
not  having  called  me.  Said  they  heard  mo  call  them  to  get  ready  to  go  out. 
I  had  not  spoken.     And  on  going  to  bed  they  saw  a  figure  in  white. 

April  9th. — Florence  much  frightened  at  apparition.  [About  five  in  the 
Afternoon.  — F.  P.  ] 

(Went  to  London  on  the  19th.) 

The  above  are  copies  of  extracts  from  Mrs.  G.'s  diary,  made  by  me  on 
July  8th,  1888.  At  the  same  time  Mrs.  G.  told  me,  in  connection  with  the 
noises  heard  by  the  children  on  February  1st,  that  on  the  day  following  she 
purposely  made  her  entry  into  the  house  very  noisy  ;  she  banged  the  front 
door,  walked  heavily  into  the  drawing-room,  banged  the  lid  of  the  piano, 
•'  I  made  as  much  noise  as  ever  I  could,"  but  on  going  down  to  the  children, 
who  were  in  the  play-room  (front  room  in  basement),  she  found  they  had 
heard  nothing. 

On  the  6th  February  Florence,  having  seeing  the  apparition  in  the  base- 
ment room,  where  she  was  alone,  ran  up  to  Mrs.  G.  at  once,  much  frightened. 
She  described  the  figure  as  that  of  a  man,  with  dark  brown  hair,  blue  eyes, 
and  a  freckled  face.  The  figure  stared  at  her,  and  seemed  as  if  it  would  stop 
as  long  as  she  stopped.     So  she  ran  away. 

Mrs.  G.  also  told  me  a  thing  which  she  had  not  mentioned  in  her  account 
— that  she  was  one  morning  left  alone  in  the  basement  room  about  10  a.m., 
the  children  having  gone  upstairs  to  wash  their  hands,  and  suddenly 
looking  round,  she  saw  distinctly  for  a  moment  two  human  faces  at  her 
elbow.  The  apparition  vanished  instantly.  She  has  had  no  other  hallucina- 
tion, either  of  sight  or  hearing  ;  except  that  about  twelve  years  ago  she  and 
her  husband  heard  some  noises,  for  which  they  could  not  account,  and  which 
may  have  been  hallucinatory. 

I  also  saw  the  children,  Edith  aged  11,  and  Florence  aged  9.  They  are 
very  bright,  intelligent  children  ;  the  elder  very  pale  and  excitable.  I  could 
not  examine  them  at  length  on  what  they  had  seen,  as  Mrs.  G.  was  very 
anxious,  Edith  having  evidently  not  yet  recovered  from  her  illness,  that  they 
should  not  bo  made  to  attach  too  much  importance  to  the  subject,  and  I  did 
not  mention  the  word  ghosts,  nor  did  they.  They  gave  me  an  account 
accurately  corresponding  to  their  mother's  of  what  they  had  seen.  On  two 
or  three  occasions  they  saw  a  figure  together.  But  the  figure  which  Edith  saw 
alone  appeared  only  momentarily  and  then  vanished,  whilst  Florence's  man 
with  freckles  was  apparently  persistent.  Edith  described  the  beautiful  hand 
placed  on  the  door,  which  accompanied  the  "  white  face."  Both  were  very 
positive  they  had  seen  something  real,  and  Edith  stamped  her  foot  indig- 
nantly when  her  mother  suggested  "  imagination."     "  Mamm^  >jq\3lVwqw 


266  Phantasms  of  ike  Dead  [Not.», 

it  wasn't  imagination  !  "  They  seem  now  to  tore  forgotten  a  good  deal  of 
their  fright,  and  told  me  they  were  very  sorry  to  leave  the  house.— F.P., 
July  9th,  1888. 

From  Anne  H.,  Mrs.  G.'a  Servant. 

JTum  ltta,  188a 
We  had  been  in  the  house  nearly  three  weeks  when  one  night  my  miatreae 
<iame  to  my  room  and  called  me,  and  said  she  heard  someone  screaming  and 
groaning  dreadfully.  I  went  into  her  room  and  I  heard  it  too;  I  thought 
someone  was  being  murdered.  It  seemed  in  the  next  house  to  me,  at  if 
someone  was  being  thrown  about  dreadfully.  Then  one  afternoon  Mi* 
Sdith  saw  a  little  woman  peep  round  the  door  at  her ;  when  she  looked  it  vat 
gone ;  and  then  one  morning  Miss  Florence  was  going  up  the  kitchen  stain, 
she  saw  a  man  standing  in  the  little  room  at  the  top  of  the  stairs  by  the  side 
of  the  window,  looking  at  her ;  and  one  afternoon  saw  the  same  man  again* 
he  was  on  his  hands  and  knees  under  the  table.  We  used  to  hear  noissi  is 
the  roof  of  a  night  as  if  someone  was  up  there  throwing  something  abort ; 
then  it  would  seem  to  give  a  great  jump  down,  and  run  up  and  downstair*, 
and  they  tried  the  handle  of  the  children's  door  ;  we  heard  something  dun* 
across  the  room  and  back  again.  The  children  heard  something  run  across 
the  room  and  screw  up  some  paper  over  by  the  cupboard  in  their  room,  tins 
go  out  again.  Then  we  heard  that  screaming  again;  we  heard  it  in  th* 
children's  room  this  time  ;  it  was  most  dreadful  Then  we  heard  sosie  door 
shook  as  if  to  shake  it  down  ;  then  it  kept  bmgmg  all  night  long.  We  did 
not  get  to  sleep  till  between  11  and  12.  Then  we  used  to  hear  a  great 
crash  every  night  about  10  o'clock  ;  it  was  downstairs  in  the  kitchen.  I 
used  to  think  everything  was  being  smashed  ;  then  one  night  it  seemed  as  if 
Bomeone  was  out  on  the  landing  slipping  about ;  then  we  heard  some  music ; 
it  sounded  like  a  musical  box  to  me  ;  it  played  three  times  ;  then  one  night 
we  all  heard  three  loud  knocks  at  mistress's  door ;  then  the  bells  used  to  ring* 
When  I  got  upstairs  to  the  front  door  no  one  was  there.  It  was  the  front 
door  because  no  one  else  used  to  ring.  One  day  it  rang  three  times  while  I 
was  dressing.  I  went  down  each  time,  but  there  was  no  one  there  then* 
One  evening  Miss  Edith  saw  some  one  standing  at  the  top  of  the  kitchen  stain, 
all  in  white,  peeping  at  her.  Then  Miss  Florence  went  back  and  she  saw  it 
too.  One  afternoon  I  was  sitting  in  the  kitchen  with  the  door  shut ;  I  heard 
someone  go  creeping  upstairs  ;  I  looked  up  and  the  door  was  open  ;  I  went 
up  directly,  but  I  could  not  see  anything  there.  Then  the  same  night  a* 
mistress  went  to  London  I  heard  that  screaming  again  as  if  they  was  knocking 
someone  about  dreadfully.  There  was  such  a  row.  Father  was  in  the  honWJ 
he  did  not  hear  anything ;  then  he  felt  something  breathing  on  his  face ;  got 
a  light  and  looked  about,  but  he  could  not  see  anything.  Then  he  had  to  go 
away  ;  then  my  little  sister  camo  in  to  be  with  me,  and  she  heard  them  throw 
some  i>aper  downstairs  and  run  down  after  it,  and  bring  it  up  again,  ^h®11 
I  woke  up  she  was  crying.  I  heard  the  spare  room  door  open  two  or  thro* 
times  ;  I  had  locked  it  before  I  went  to  bed,  because  it  would  not  latch ; 
then  mother  came  in  ;  she  did  not  get  to  sleep  all  night  for  the  noises ;  aha 
heard  someone  go  into  mistress's  room  and  begin  moving  the  things  about, 
then  something  seemed  to  be  in  the  wall,  began  tapping  about.  Then  they 
moved  some  paper  right  over  by  the  cupboard  ;  then  we  heard  someone  jmsp 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  267 

down  outside  the  spare  room  door.     Then  she  saw  a  face ;  it  seemed  to  come 

right  through  the  wall.     Then  one  night  in  my  bedroom  I  saw  a  shadow,  it 

seemed  all  in  a  heap  ;  it  went  right  along  the  window  and  shaded  right  along 

the  wall  opposite.     Then  I  woke  up  one  night  and  heard  such  a  row ;  it 

seemed  close  to  my  ear  like  an  alarum.     Then  a  thump  in  the  ceiling  one 

afternoon.     We  heard  someone  go  right  across  the  drawing-room  and  touch 

the  notes  of  the  piano  and  go  out  again. 

A,  H.  (aged  21). 

(I  talked  to  Anne  H.,  a  clever,  intelligent  girl,  to-day.  She  gave 
me  a  graphic  description  of  the  shadow  moving  across  the  window 
and  wall  of  her  bedroom.  Has  had  no  other  hallucinations. — F.P.,  July 
9th,  1888.) 

From  Miss  R.,  Surbiton. 

Dear  Sir, — In  answer  to  your  letter  respecting  Mrs.   G.'s  house  in 

road,  all  I  can  tell  you  is  that  I  was  with  her  when  she  moved  into  it 

and  for  a  week  after,  and  during  that  time  nothing  happened  to  disturb  us 
except  the  bells  used  to  ring,  but  this  we  supposed  then  was  done  by  boys  in 
the  street.  I  should  never  have  thought  of  this  again  if  subsequent  events 
had  not  made  me  think  of  it.  Sorry  I  cannot  give  you  any  further  informa- 
tion.— Yours  truly,  M.  R. 

Mrs.  G.'s  experience  in  the  house  appears  very  quickly  to  have 
become  matter  of  common  talk  in  the  town,  and  in  May  of  the  same 
year,  when  the  house  was  empty,  a  party  of  three  gentlemen  obtained 
access  to  it,  on  two  different  occasions,  for  the  purposes  of  investigation. 
Their  accounts  are  given  below. 

From  Mr.W.  O.  D.,  Barrister-at-Law. 

July  ltf,  1888. 

May  23rd,  1888. — First  visit,  in  company  with  the  Rev.  G.  O.  and  Mr.  C, 
solicitor.  Heard  a  bell  ring,  which  I  believe  was  not  rung  by  any 
mundane  agency.  Subsequently  we  heard  a  heavy  crash,  as  it  were  of 
crockery,  not  produced  by  any  visible  means. 

May  28th. — Second  visit.  In  company  with  the  same  gentlemen  herein 
before  mentioned  I  saw  part  of  the  dress  of  a  super-material  being.  Mr.  O. 
and  Mr.  C,  who  were  in  the  room  before  me,  saw  far  more  of  the  form  than 
I  did.  After  the  apparition,  the  Rev.  G.  O.  performed  a  ceremony  of 
exorcism,  in  which  both  myself  and  Mr.  C.  joined.  I  have  since  been  to  the 
house,  but  did  not  hear  or  witness  anything  unusual.  I  am  firmly  convinced 
in  my  own  mind  that  the  phenomena  we  beheld  and  the  noises  we  heard 
were  the  results  of  super-material  forces. 

From  the  Rev.  G.  O. 

July  3rd,  1888. 

I  have  not  kept  and  can't  recall  dates,  but  about  a  month  ago  I  went  to 
road,  hearing  it  was  haunted.     I  went  with  Mr.  D.  and  Mr.  C.  and  the 
agent's  son,  at  eight.   At  8. 30  we  heard  bell  ringing,  \>ut  not\\\xv^to  «&&was&»  \ss* 


268  .     Phamtmms  of  the  Dead  [Not.M, 

it.  little  later  on  a  crash  and  fall  aa  of  a  box  or  board  tumbling  down.  All 
beard  tola,  three  of  them  being  on  the  ground  floor,  I  on  the  haaaiamt 

A  few  evenings  after  we  went  the  second  time,  at  nine  o'clock.  At  UD 
or  about,  aa  we  were  thinking  of  leaving,  and  aa  we  atood  in  hall,  I  »* 
a  form  glide  from  back  to  front  room,  and  at  same  time  my  two  frienfc, 
who  were  beside  me  saw,  D.  a  part  of  the  figure  and  O.  the  entire. 
This  was  all  I  then  said  prayers  for  exorcism  of  the  house  and  rest  for 
the  souls.    Since  then  no  more  has  been  heard. 

I  may  add  I  saw  myself,  but  not  distinctly,  a  small  column  of  sttrfy 
vapour  on  the  first  occasion,  but  not  being  very  distinct,  and  not  developing 
into  anything,  I  do  not  enter  into  it  here. 

In  conversation  Mr.  D.,  wbo  appeared  to  be  a  man  of  narrow 
temperament,  and  who  has  implicit  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  the  exordia, 
told  me  that  he  had  had  no  other  hallucinations.    Mr.  O.,  he  said, 
went  first  into  the  room,  and  drew  the  attention  of  the  others  to  the 
figure,  which  disappeared  almost  instantaneously.     Neither  Mr.  D.  nor 
Mr.  C.  could  remember  accurately  the  position  of  the  light ;  but  they 
thought  it  probable,  on  the  whole,  that  Mr.  O.  carried  a  light  in  his 
hand,  and  that  there  was  no  other  light,  except  through  the  uncurtained 
windows,  in  the  room  where  the  figure  was  seen.      Mr.  O.,  who  is 
extremely  deaf,  appears  to  have  heard  the  noise  on  the  first  evening 
with  perfect  distinctness.     Mr.  O.  has  had  other  sensory  hallucinations 
which  may  have  been  veridical.     Mr.  C.  gave  me  an  account  of  the  in* 
cident  corresponding  with  those  given  by  Mr.  D.  and  Mr.  0.9  except  that, 
as  he  described  it,  he  only  saw  the  end  of  a  woman's  dress  disappearing 
round  the  door.     Mr.  C.  also  gave  me  an  account  of  a  hallucination, 
resembling  the  human  figure,  which  he  had  seen  only  a  few  weeks 
previously  in  his  own  room,  when,  apparently,  in  normal  health. 

We  have  been  unable,  so  far,  to  induce  Mr.  C.  to  give  us  a  written 

account  of  his  experiences. 

Finally,  I  subjoin  an  extract  from  a  newspaper  of  April  5th,  1879, 
relating  to  a  suicide  which  took  place  in  the  house: — 

Singular  Case  of  Suicide.— The  Coroner  held  an  inquest  on  Satur- 
day at  the Inn,  on  the  body  of  Mrs.  M.  F.,  aged  42  years,  who  com- 
mitted suicide  by  hanging  herself  on   the   previous  day.      Deceased,    a 

lodging-house    keeper  in road,1  had    more   than   once   threatened  to 

destroy  hersolf,  but  no  importance  was  attached  to  what  she  said.  On 
Friday,  however,  she  sent  a  letter  to  a  friend  saying  that  she  would  never 
be  seen  alive  again  in  this  world  ;  but  this,  like  her  previous  assertions,  was 
regarded  as  an  empty  threat,  and  it  was  not  until  Mr.  B.  .  .  . 
lodging  at  her  house,  missed  her,  and  mentioned  the  fact  to  a  relative,  that 
any  notice  was  taken  of  the  letter.     The  house  was  then  searched,  and 

1  The  number  of  the  house  is  not  given  in  the  newspaper  report ;  bat  it  has 
ascertained  from  the  police  records  of  suicides. 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  269 

deceased  Was  discovered  hanging  by  a  skipping-rope  to  a  peg  behind  the 
door  of  the  top  back  bedroom,  quite  dead.  The  jury  returned  a  verdict, 
"  Suicide  whilst  in  a  state  of  unsound  mind.'1 

[Date  of  Suicide— March  28th,  1879.] 

Here  again  it  will  be  noticed  that  before  anything  of  an  unusual 
character  is  seen  in  the  house  a  nervous  state  had  been  induced  in  the 
occupants  in  each  case  by  the  unaccountable  noises  which  were  heard. 
In  the  case  of  Miss  Morris  the  phantasm  was  of  a  constant  type.  But 
with  the  subsequent  tenants  a  general  hallucinatory  diathesis,  almost 
comparable  with  that  of  the  famous  Mrs.  A.,  appears  to  have  been  estab- 
lished, and  the  ghosts  are  multiform.  The  evidence  of  the  third 
group  of  witnesses  possesses  little  independent  value.  All  three  were 
acquainted  with  what  had  already  taken  place  in  the  house :  their 
general  attitude  towards  the  subject  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  one 
of  their  number  afterwards  performed  an  act  of  exorcism  in  the 
house,  with  all  due  ceremonial  observances :  and  two  of  them  had 
previously  experienced  visual  hallucinations. 

The  least  readily  explicable  feature  in  the  story  is  the  appearance 
of  phantasms  to  two  independent  groups  of  observers,  the  second  of 
whom  were  almost  certainly  ignorant  of  the  experiences  of  their  prede- 
cessors. This  may  have  been  a  mere  coincidence ;  or  the  apparitions, 
which,  it  will  be  observed,  were  entirely  dissimilar,  may  have,  in  each  case, 
been  generated  by  the  alarm  caused  by  the  occurrence  of  inexplicable 
noises,  themselves  possibly  to  be  explained  as  hallucinatory  superstruc- 
tures built  up  round  a  nucleus  of  real  sounds,  just  as  we  know  from 
the  experiments  of  MM.  Binet  and  Fere*  that  visual  hallucinations  may 
be  constructed  on  an  external  point  de  repere.  Or  it  is  permissible  to 
conjecture  that  the  later  experiences  may  have  been  started  by  thought- 
transference  from  Miss  Morris,  whose  thoughts,  no  doubt,  occasionally 
turned  to  the  house  in  which  she  had  suffered  so  much  agitation  and 
alarm. 

Readers  to  whom  such  a  conjecture  seems  beyond  the  bounds  of 
probability  are  reminded  that  the  alternative  explanation  is  not  that  of 
a  semi-corporeal  ghostly  entity,  capable  of  uttering  expressive  sighs  and 
displacing  the  kitchen  furniture.  Such  a  conception  may  conceivably 
have  appeared  adequate  at  an  earlier  stage  of  the  investigation.  Such 
a  conception,  in  a  less  crude  form  and  with  less  explicitness,  may  still 
appeal  to  some  as  the  simplest  interpretation  of  the  facts.  But  it  is  not 
held  by  Mr.  Myers.  He  has  anticipated  me  in  pointing  out  that,  how- 
ever caused,  the  phenomena  are  of  the  nature  of  hallucinations.  There 
has  been  no  displacement  of  the  kitchen  furniture,  the  sighs  heard  were 
conveyed  by  no  aerial  vibrations.  To  him  the  manifestations  seem  to 
reflect  "  a  dead  man's  incoherent  dream."   To  ine  it  \&  not  c\ss\sw&  n*\v^ 


270  .    Phantasms  of  ike  D*ad  [No*.  J9, 

the  dreams  of  the  living  should  poaacaa  leas  potency  than  the  imagfafrt 
dreams  of  the  unknown  dead. 

So  far  there  has  been  no  attempt  to  identify  the  phantasms.  Indaei 
so  many  dissimilar  figures  have  been  recorded  in  the  last  tarn  narratm 
that  any  attempt  at  identification  must  necessarily  have  been  attended 
with  considerable  difficulties.  But,  as  already  said*  in  a  large  number  o£ 
cases  an  attempt  is  made  to  trace  the  origin  of  the  phantasm.  The  two 
following  cases  supply  very  good  examples.  In  the  first  case  (G.  188) 
we  have  the  evidence  of  four  witnesses,  who  testify  to  having  seen  the 
figure  of  a  child  in  the  house.  And  we  have  in  our  possession  a  certifi- 
cate of  the  death  of  the  child  who,  as  stated  by  one  of  the  narraton, 
died  in  the  house  some  years  before  the  apparition  waa  seen.  Thefint 
account  is  written  by  Mrs.  H.,  wife  of  a  doctor  in  a  small  provincial 
town ;  and,  as  we  learn  from  her,  Dr.  H.  has  seen  and  admitted  the. 
correctness  of  what  she  has  written,  so  that  his  evidence  is  practically 
first-hand.  We  owe  this  narrative  to  Mr.  More  Adey,  of  Wotton- 
under-Edge,  who  has  seen  some  of  the  persons  concerned;  and  the 
original  accounts,  which  are  undated,  appear  to  have  been  sent  to  him 
in  the  latter  part  of  1883. 

G.  188. 

Some  years  ago  (perhaps  about  20  or  more),  we  happened  to  be  having  one 
of  our  usual  small  gatherings  for  a  musical  evening,  when  the  careumstanoa 
happened  which  I  am  going  to  relate.  My  husband  had  been  detained  Tinting 
patients  until  rather  late,  returning  home  about  9  o'clock,  fie  was  running 
upstairs  in  his  usual  quick  way,  three  or  four  steps  at  a  time,  to  go  to  his 
dressing-room  and  dress  for  the  evening,  when,  on  turning  the  first  flight  of 
stall's,  he  was  rather  startled  to  see  on  the  landing  (a  few  steps  higher)  a  little 
child,  who  ran  before  him  into  my  room.  My  little  boy  B.,  about  two  or 
three  years  of  age,  was  at  that  time  sleeping  in  a  small  child's  bed  at  my 
bedside.  Mr.  H.  followed  and  spoke,  calling  the  boy  by  name,  but  he  gtf* 
no  answer.  The  gas  was  burning  on  the  landing  outside  my  room,  but  there 
was  no  light  inside.  He  felt  about  and  on  the  bed,  but  instead  of  finding 
the  child  standing  or  sitting  on  the  bed,  as  he  supposed,  he  found  him  com- 
fortably tucked  in  and  fast  asleep.  A  cold  creepy  feeling  came  over  him,  for 
there  had  not  possibly  been  time  for  anyone  to  get  into  the  bed,  which  v*» 
just  behind  the  door.  Ho  lighted  a  candle,  searched  the  room,  and  also  »* 
that  the  boy  was  unmistakably  fast  asleep.  He  expected  to  find  one  of  tbt 
other  children,  as  the  figure  appeared  to  be  taller  than  that  of  the  boy- 
When  the  company  had  gone  my  husband  told  me  of  the  occurrence.  I W 
quite  sure  that  the  mystery  could  be  solved,  and  that  we  should  find  H  had 
been  one  of  the  children,  though  he  assured  me  there  could  be  no  one  in  the 
room,  as  he  had  made  a  thorough  search. 

I  still  thought  he  might  be  mistaken,  and  fancied  that  it  had  been& 
(who  was  a  year  or  two  older  than  B.),  who  had  escaped  out  of  the  night 
nursery,  which  was  near  ;  that  she  had  been  listening  to  the  music,  when  shl 
heard  someone  coming,  and  had  run  into  my  room  to  hide  ;  but  on  inquiring 
closely  the  next  morning,  I  found  she  had  never  left  her  bed.    We  did  not 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  271 

think  much  more  about  it,  though  there  was  still  a  feeling  of  mystery,  and 
we  never  named  it  to  anyone.  Some  years  afterwards  it  was  brought  to  our 
minds  by  two  of  my  daughters  having  seen  a  child  very  early  in  the  morning 
it  the  same  time,  but  in  different  rooms.  One  of  them  only  saw  its  face. 
Then,  after  a  lapse  of  years,  Miss  A.,  while  staying  with  us,  saw  the  appari- 
tion mentioned  in  her  ghost  story.  Whether  the  appearance  has  been  a 
ghost  or  merely  an  optical  delusion  I  cannot  say,  but  each  of  those  who  have 
seen  it  had  never  heard  the  slightest  allusion  to  anything  of  the  kind  before. 
If  the  apparition  should  be  a  ghost,  I  have  thought  that  it  must  be  the  spirit 
of  a  little  girl  who  died  in  part  of  our  house  before  it  was  added  to  it.  When 
we  first  came  to  this  house,  about  30  years  ago,  it  was  divided  into  two,  the 
smaller  part  being  inhabited  by  a  doctor.  His  wife  died  soon  after  we  came,, 
tnd  a  few  years  afterwards  his  little  girl.  I  used  to  see  her  when  she  was. 
ill,  and  1  last  saw  her  the  day  before  she  died.  She  had  fine  dark  eyes,  black 
hair,  oval  face,  and  a  pale  olive  complexion.  This  description  I  find  exactly 
agrees  with  those  who  have  seen  its  face.  None  of  them  had  ever  heard  me 
mention  the  child  ;  indeed,  I  had  forgotten  about  her  until  hearing  of  these 
ghost  stories.  I  said  it  must  be  J.  M.,  who  died  here.  Soon  after  her 
death  her  father  went  abroad.  As  far  as  I  remember  the  child  was  about 
eight  or  nine  years  of  age. 

From  Miss  G.  H. 

I  was  up  early  one  winter's  morning  just  as  dawn  was  breaking,  and 
there  was  barely  light  enough  for  me  to  see  my  way  about  the  house  ;  I  was 
feeling  tired  and  somewhat  sleepy,  but  not  in  the  slightest  degree  nervous. 

On  passing  the  door  of  a  room  at  the  head  of  the  staircase,  in  which  my 

youngest  sister  slept,  I  perceived  that  it  was  open.     Taking  hold  of  the 

handle,  I  was  about  to  shut  it  (the  door  opened  inwards),  when  I  was  startled 

by  the  figure  of  a  child,  standing  in  a  corner  formed  by  a  wardrobe  which 

**s  placed  against  the  wall  about  a  foot  and  a-half  from  the   doorway. 

Thinking  it  was  my  sister,  I  exclaimed.  "  Oh,  M.,   you  shouldn't  startle  me 

*> ! "  and  shut  the  door  ;  but  in  the  same  instant,  before  I  had  time  to  quit 

my  hold  of  the  handle,  I  opened  it  again,  feeling  sure  that  it  could  not  be  my 

lister  ;  and,  sure  enough,  she  was  fast  asleep  in  bed  so  far  from  the  door  that 

it  would  not  have  been  possible  for  her  to  have  crossed  from  the  door  to  her 

bedside  in  the  short  space  of  time  when  I  was  closing  the  door.     In  the 

corner  where  the  child  had  been  there  was  nothing,  and  I  felt  that  I  must 

have  seen  a  ghost,  for  I  was  suddenly  seized  with  a  feeling  of  horror  which 

could  not  have  been  caused  by  anything  imaginary.     The  child  had  a  dark 

complexion,  hair  and  eyes,  and  a  thin  oval  face  ;  it  was  not  white  as  when 

men  by  Miss  A.,  but  it  gave  me  a  mournful  look  as  if  full  of  trouble.     Had 

ft  been  a  living  child,  I  should  have  imagined  it  to  be  one  who  enjoyed  none 

of  the  thoughtlessness  and  carelessness  of  childhood,   but  whose  young  life,. 

°n  the  contrary,  was  filled  with  premature  cares.  Its  age  might  be  about  nine 

°*  10 ;  its  dress  I  could  not  distinguish,  as  I  only  seemed  to  see  its  head  and 

foe ;  the  expression  struck  me  most ;  so  vividly  did  I  see  it  that  if  I  were 

*hb  to  draw  I  could,  I  believe,  give  an  accurate  representation  of  it,  even 

*ow  after  about  five  years. 

On  telling  my  eldest  sister  A.  what  I  had  seen  she  said,  "  How  very 
Orioot !  I  thought  I  saw  something,  too,  this  morning. " 


272  Phantasms  of  the  Dead  [Nov.  29, 

I  must  tell  you  that  to  reach  her  bedroom  it  was  necessary  to  pass  through 
mine  ;  on  the  morning  in  question  as  she  looked  into  my  room  she  saw  a 
figure  standing  by  a  small  table.  Being  short-sighted  she  thought  for  a 
moment  that  it  was  I,  though  it  appeared  to  be  smaller ;  and  suddenly  seized 
with  a  nervous  fear,  most  unusual  with  her,  she  called  out,  "  Oh  !  G.,  wait 
for  me."  She  turned  for  an  instant  to  get  something  out  of  her  room,  and 
when  she  looked  again  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen.  The  door  from  my 
room  into  the  passage  was  shut.  I  was  in  another  part  of  the  house  at  the 
time,  and  we  were  the  only  two  members  of  the  family  out  of  bed. 

From  Mrs.  A.  (formerly  Miss  H.) 

I  believe  it  was  between  five  and  six  in  the  morning  my  sister  and  self 
thought  we  would  get  up  early  to  read.  We  had  our  bedrooms  close  together, 
with  the  door  in  the  middle  joining  the  rooms  always  open. 

My  sister  had  just  left  her  room  about  three  minutes  ;  when  I  looked 
towards  her  room  I  saw  a  little  figure  in  white  standing  near  a  table.  I  did 
not  see  its  face,  but  I  attribute  that  to  my  being  so  short-sighted.  Also  1  wai 
so  suddenly  overcome  with  nervousness  that  I  ran  from  the  room. 

During  the  morning  I  told  my  sister  what  I  had  seen  ;  then  she  gave  me 
her  account. 

Asked  whether  they  had  experienced  any  other  hallucination,  Mis* 
G.  H.  and  Mrs.  A.  replied  in  the  negative.     Dr.  H.,  however,  explained 
that  he  had  heard  more  than  once  strange  unaccountable  noises,  and 
from  a  later  hitter  we  learn  that  on  one  occasion  he  had  a  visual 
hallucination  after  sitting  up  three  nights  in  succession. 

In  answer  to  questions,  Mrs.  II.  writes  : — 

December  ll//i,  1883. 

Strange  that  she  [i.e.,  the  child  whom  the  phantasm  was  supposed  to 
resemble]  did  not  die  in  our  house,  but  in  the  next  one  to  it,  which  lias  sine© 
been  added.  It  was  originally  all  in  one.  It  is  since  the  two  houses  have 
been  joined  that  the  child  appeared,  and  to  three,  Mr.  H.,  (t.,  and  Miss  A., 
in  our  old  part.  But  when  Mrs.  A.  saw  it,  it  was  in  the  very  room  in  which 
she  died.  When  the  others  described  the  appearance  of  the  child,  then  it 
struck  me  it  might  be  the  one  I  knew,  and  when  I  gave  a  minute  description 
of  her  they  said  it  corresponded  exactly. 

****** 

The  first  appearance  to  Mr.  II.  was  in  winter,  but  we  do  not  remember 
the  date.  On  referring  to  other  events  that  occurred  al>out  the  time,  I  think 
it  must  have  been  between  January  18G3  and  18(55.  The  child  appeared  to 
both  my  daughters  on  the  same  morning.  This  happened  in  January,  1877. 
It  appeared  to  Miss  A.  in  July,  187-K 

.1.  M.  died  January  21st,  1854,  aged  10  years.  I  enclose  a  copy  of  the 
registration  of  her  death. 

April  llth%  1885. 

My  husband  a  few  weeks  ago  began  to  hear  again  the  loud  knocks  which 
he  mentions  in  answer  to  one  of  your  former  questions.  He  does  not  say 
-"uch  about  it,  but  I  see  that  he  thinks  it  is  something  supernatural. 

~  want  to  persuade  him  that  it  is  a  dream,  and  I  cannot  help  thinking 


1889.]  from  Another  Point  of  View.  273 

that  it  may  be,  bat  I  am  trying  to  find  it  out.  I  cannot  hear  the  knocks. 
They  ceased  for  a  few  weeks,  but  came  again  two  or  three  nights  ago.  I 
hire  begged  that  he  will  tell  me  when  it  comes  again,  and  I  shall  make  a 
note  of  each  time,  with  the  surrounding  circumstances. 

I  think  I  told  you  before  that  it  was  only  my  idea  that  the  apparition  of 
the  child  might  be  one  who  died  many  years  ago  in  part  of  our  house,  then 
detached,  and  I  rather  mentioned  it  in  jest  at  the  first.  Long  afterwards, 
however,  and  some  time  after  the  appearance  to  Miss  A.,  when  I  gave  a 
description  of  the  child,  my  daughter  G.  exclaimed  at  once  that  it  was  exactly 
the  same  as  the  one  she  saw  (she  had  partly  described  it  to  me  before),  and 
the  same  as  the  face  Miss  A.  had  seen.  I  distinctly  remember  J.  M.  's  face, 
although  I  have  forgotten  almost  everything  else  about  her. 

May  20ft,  1885. 

I  was  only  two  nights  absent,  but  on  my  return  my  husband  told  me  that 
in  the  first  night  he  had  again  heard  the  knocks  very  loud.  This  happened  to 
he  the  night  my  brother-in-law  died.  Still  I  do  not  think  the  knocks  are 
from  any  supernatural  cause,  though  it  is  perhaps  worth  trying  to  find  out. 
Tou  will  see  in  my  answers  that  when  quite  a  young  man  he  heard  noises 
immediately  preceding  a  death.  He  has  never  heard  anything  of  the  kind 
for  many,  many  years,  except,  I  think,  occasional  noises  within  the  last  year, 
which  I  told  you  of.  It  is  now  quite  six  weeks,  or  more,  since  he  heard  a 
accession  of  knocks,  that  is,  at  intervals  of  a  night  or  two. 

The  following  account,  written  by  Miss  J.  A.  A.,  and  communicated 
by  her  to  Mr.  H.  C.  Coote,  appeared  in  Notes  and  Queries  for  March 
20th,  1880,  over  the  signature  of  H.  C.  C.  :— 

The  following  interesting  commuiucation  has  been  handed  to  me  by  a 
young  lady,  who  is  as  intelligent  as  she  is  charming.  Her  hereditary  acumen 
precludes  altogether  the  possibility  of  any  self-deceit  in  regard  to  her  own 
personal  experiences  as  narrated  by  herself. 

44  What  I  am  going  to  relate  happened  to  myself  while  staying  with  some 
tforth-country  cousins,  last  July,  at  their  house  in shire.     I  had  spent 

*  few  days  there  in  the  summer  of  the  previous  year,  but  without  then  hear- 
ing or  seeing  anything  out  of  the  common.  On  my  second  visit,  arriving 
*riy  in  the  afternoon,  I  went  out  boating  with  some  of  the  family,  spent  a 
*ery  jolly  evening,  and  finally  went  to  bed — a  little  tired,  perhaps,  with  the 
day's  work,  but  not  the  least  nervous.  I  slept  soundly  until  between  three 
*&d  four,  just  when  the  day  was  beginning  to  break.     I  had  been  awake  for 

*  short  time  when  suddenly  the  door  of  my  bedroom  opened  and  shut  again 

ither  quickly.     I  fancied  it  might  be  one  of   the  servants,  and  called  out, 

'Come  in  ! '    After  a  short  time  the  door  opened  again,  but  no  one  came  in 

—ftt  least,  no  one  that  I  could  see.     Almost  at  the  same  time  that  the  door 

°pened  for  the  second  time,  I  was  a  little  startled  by  the  rustling  of  some 

curtains  belonging  to  a  hanging  wardrobe,  which  stood  by  the  side  of  the 

M ;  the  rustling  continued,  and  I  was  seized  with  a  most  uncomfortable 

feeling,  not  exactly  of   fright,  but  a  strange,  unearthly  sensation  that  I  teas 

*ot  alone.     I  had  had  that  feeling  for  some  minutes,  when  I  saw  at  the  foot 

of  the  bed  a  child  about  seven  or  nine  years  old.     The  child  seemed  as  if  it 

were  on  the  bed,  and  came  gliding  towards  me  as  I  lay.     It  was  the  figure  of 


274  Phantasms  of  the  Lead  [No?.  29, 

a  little  girl  in  her  night-dress — a  little  girl  with  dark  hair  and  a  very  white 
face.  I  tried  to  speak  to  her,  but  could  not.  She  came  slowly  on  up  to  the 
top  of  the  bed,  and  I  then  saw  her  face  clearly.  She  seemed  in  great 
trouble  ;  her  hands  were  clasped  and  her  eyes  were  turned  up  with  a  look  of 
entreaty,  an  almost  agonised  look.  Then,  slowly  unclasping  her  hands,  she 
touched  me  on  the  shoulder.  The  hand  felt  icy  cold,  and  while  I  strove  to 
speak  she  was  gone.  I  felt  inoro  frightened  after  the  child  was  gone  than 
before,  and  began  to  be  very  anxious  for  the  time  when  the  servant  would 
make  her  appearance.  Whether  I  slept  again  or  not  I  hardly  know.  But 
by  the  time  the  servant  did  come  I  had  almost  persuaded  myself  that  the 
whole  affair  was  nothing  but  a  very  vivid  nightmare.  However,  when  I 
came  down  to  breakfast,  there  were  many  remarks  made  about  my  not  look- 
ing well — it  was  observed  that  I  was  pale.  In  answer  I  told  my  cousins  that 
I  had  had  a  most  vivid  nightmare,  and  I  remarked  if  I  was  a  believer  in 
ghosts  I  should  imagine  I  had  seen  one.  Nothing  more  was  said  at  the  time 
upon  this  subject,  except  that  my  host,  who  was  a  doctor,  observed  that  I 
had  better  not  sleep  in  the  room  again,  at  any  rate  not  alone. 

"  So  the  following  night  one  of   my  cousins  slept  in  the  same  room  with 
me.     Neither  of  us  saw  or  heard  anything  out  of  the  way  during  that  night 
or  the  early  morning.     That  being  the  case,  I  persuaded  myself  that  what  I 
had  seen  had  been  only  imagination,  and,  much  against  everybody's  ex- 
pressed wish,  I  insisted  the  next  night  on  sleeping  in  the  room  again,  and 
alone.     Accordingly,  having  retired  again  to  the  same  room,  I  was  kneeling 
down  at  the  bedside  to  say  my  prayers,  when  exactly  the  same  dread  ai 
before  came  over  me.     The  curtains  of   the  wardrobe  swayed  about,  and  I 
had  the  same  sensation  as   previously,   that  I  was  not  alone.     I  felt  too 
frightened  to  stir,  when,  luckily  for   me,  one  of  my  cousins  came  in  for 
something  which  she  had  left.     (>n  looking  at  me  she  exclaimed,  *  Have  yon 
seen  anything  ?' I  said,   'No,'  but  told  her   how  I  felt,  and,  without  much 
persuasion  being  necessary,  I  left  the  room  with  her,  and  never  returned  to 
it.     When  my  hostess  learnt  what  had  happened  (as  she  did  immediately) 
she  told  me